Spyro Twisted Fate
by Ebon The Dragon
Summary: Malefor, the dark lord has risen to power. Spyro Is the only one who is able to stop him, But his past has soon comes to haunt him. With his dark nature slowly taking over his soul, and his friends being held captive. Can he battle his past and save his friends and himself from death? Includes . Mild-medium foul language .disturbing scenes .death .gory detail


PROLOGUE

"This...this isn't you. You need to fight this Spyro. Fight this!" I urged to him. "Why would I do that? With all this raw power. I would have to be an idiot to do that" he snarled. This is bad. This is so very bad. He would never say this. I looked down, wondering If I could make him remember. If I should make him remember. Hopefully I can bring him back to his senses. I looked up. I looked into his eyes. There was something about his eyes that glimmers with remorse. "I need you. I need you, now more than ever." The moment I said that, Spyro snapped back. "The spyro you know is dead, Gone forever. He was weak, pathetic. I, am more than he will ever will be." That hurt me, the very thought that my closest friend is gone scared me more than anything. I could feel a tear forming up. "I need you. I need you now, more than ever. And the Spyro I know would be able to see that." Tears were now falling down my face. "The very thought of losing you scares me more than anything." He froze for a second. Did I do it? Is he coming back to me? He looked up. Straight at me, and with pricked wings and an evil snarl, he said "Awwww. Well isn't that sweet. I didn't know that you felt this strong for him." He took a step forward. "Well" His wings were now fully extended, his blade drawn. "How would you like to see him again...IN HELL"

CHAPTER 1

You know. One small slip up, and your life changes forever. Trust me. I know. After all, I did kinda have to live with an evil version of me inside of my body. This is my story. And it's weird. My story starts on the year 32,473 B.C. The year I was brought into the world. I was nothing out of the ordinary. You know. 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 2 wings. Just your normal everyday dragon.

Sadly, I didn't know my parents. They were murdered by Malefor when I was young. Now Malefor is THE definition of pure evil. He essentially kidnapped me and used me to do his bidding for him. He made me believe that HE was the good guy. But I saw through that. I escaped when I was 5 (which is twice as mature than you humans are at that age) and luckily for me, I was taken in by Yurial, who was a guardian. The Gaurdians were a group of protectors across the world. But since Malefor killed most of them, were all that's left. Anyway, Yurial was like a father to me. And he also introduced me the people that I call my friends.

There's Jade, Yoznir, Vithnar. And Cynder. But then there's also the rest of the Gaurdians. Lance, Viika and Othreal. I'm proud to call these people my friends.

So now you know everyone. Let's continue. The current year is 32,458 B.C. I am now 15 years old, which is considered mature for my species. After all. Dragons mature faster than humans, although the rate of maturity slows down by the age of 8 or 9.

CHAPTER 2 Spyro's perspective

"Steady, Steeaady. Deep breaths. Come on you can do this, it was now or never. Deep breaths. Concentrate." I whispered to my self as not to alert the others around me. I pulled the bowstring back until my hand was resting comfortably against my cheekbone. "Steady there" I whispered to myself again. I took a second to adjust my shot. As I exhaled, I released the bowstring and with a satisfying sound, the arrow struck home on the target about 3 cm away from a perfect shot. "So, Sooo close." Said a voice from behind me. "You know Cynder, knowing that you're behind me watching, really rattles my focus."

It was quite warm outside. Barely any breeze, no clouds, no rain. Just grass and flowers. The grass waved back and forth slightly in sync with the gentle gusts of wind. There were no trees around for about 100 metres. The clearing we were in was surrounded by thick forest line. I say we because Cynder was here. Cynder is my closest friend. She was only very slightly shorter than me, about 1 centimetre. She was much slimmer than I was. But she was still very strong. She had black scales, but they had a pinkish purple sheen to them. She had magenta accents and green eyes. Her claws had a silver sheen to them and they shined when the sun reflected off of them. And she was the only dragon I know that has a tail blade. Her blade was razor sharp. Only very, VERY few dragons nowadays had a tail blade. It had a dark metallic sheen to it and it had a subtle curve at the end of it. Anyways... we were outside as Cynder had offered to teach me how to use a bow and arrow efficiently. I was a decent shot dont get me wrong, but I wasn't nearly as good as her.

I walked over to the target and closer inspected my arrow. It was buried about 1/3 deep into the target. "If you want some advice, try adjusting your stance slightly." She said in a very slight sarcastic tone. "You know I don't think I'm cut out to be an archer. I would rather I just stuck with my blade." I remarked, placing my hand on my blade holder. "Well what if you got outnumbered? Wouldn't you rather have some distance?" She asked in a serious tone." She did make a good point. "I think I'll be fine" I turned to look at her. Only to see her loading up her bow and in one very fast and swift movement, she pulled back her bowstring, released it and scored a perfect shot. "That's how it's done by a professional" she remarked. I knew she was making fun of my lack of skills, but I didn't care. We both chuckled a little at that, but that soon wore off.

" So, do you think we should get back? I mean we have been gone for a few hours." She asked me. I looked up and could see a storm making its way over. "Yeah, we probably should if we want to avoid that storm." I went up to my target and pulled my arrow off. " Ahh yes. A headless arrow. My favourite." I said sarcastically. Cynder had let out another little chuckle. " Even the arrow thinks that your bad" she remarked. We then began walking home. There was something about this place that's just so calming. Every time I come here, I just feel so... calm. Even if I'm upset, stressed or angry, this place always soothes me. And it's even more relaxing with Cynder by my side. "Its so peaceful out here." I said to her "yeah. It really is." She replied in agreement. Something about this place seems to sit so perfectly. Is it the way the wind breezes through the trees? Or the way the grass moves in the wind? No. It's because it reminds me of how calm I can be around Cynder. She makes me calm, and I feel that I can always trust her no matter what.

We walked for a short while until we had returned home. Home is one of the very few things that I still have in my life. It's actually just an ancient temple which has been turned into a Guardian refuge. 30 years ago, Malefor tried to kill all of the Gaurdians. With no one to confront him, his evil plan would be a breeze. But something happened. He failed. Now there are only a few of us left. But to me, they're family. "Are you going straight to your dorm?" Cynder asked me. The dorm rooms were situated in a smaller building opposite the bigger one. There were 12 dorm rooms, and 6 of them were used up. The bigger one, or 'the Gaurd' was about 3 times the size of the accommodations. Within the Guard, you would find the library, the training room, the outdoor area, the recreational rooms, the infirmary rooms and the Gaurdian office like rooms.

" No. Yurial wants to talk to me about something. Dunno what about though." I responded. " Hey you 2!" Jade was there. Was she.. waiting for us? She jogged up to us. Jade was another one of my friends. She was kind of a smartass when it came to general knowledge. Jade had emerald green scales, which gives her name, and she had a much darker shade of green for her accents and inner wings. She had black claws and horns and she had blue eyes.

"Sooo.. How'd it go?" She said suggestively. Jade always thought that there was something between me and Cynder. She's the type of dragon who if she saw a male dragon and female dragon within close vicinity of each other, she would always think that they were dating. " If you meant the target practice, Bad." I told her. "That is what you were meaning, isn't it?" I asked. "Oh yeah. Totally" she said in a sarcastic voice. I didn't believe her for a single second, but I went with it. The 3 of us continued inside the dorm buildings. The dorm building had 2 rows of 6 dorms in parallel. Each dorm had 2 rooms, the bedroom, kitchen and shower room with the bedroom and kitchen taking up half the room each. The shower room was the smallest and took up a small corner. The second room is the living area. "Aren't you coming with us?" Jade asked. "No I can't, Yurial wants to talk to me about something." "Ok. Well I guess I'll see you later then" jade responded. Jade and Cynder then continued into Jades dorm.

CHAPTER 3 Spyro's perspective

"Do you know why I have requested to talk with you Spyro?" Yurial asked. Yurial was big, about half a meter taller than me. And he was very muscular, which made him look even bigger. He had a very noticeable scar across his side. He had darkish grey scales, which were worn and chipped slightly, as well as having white accents and inner wings. He had one green eye and one blue eye. He sounded serious, almost scared. Othreal was here too. Othreal was almost the opposite he had white scales, which were almost pristine in condition, and he had darkish grey accent and inner wings. He had brown eyes.

"No. I don't " I replied with a hint of curiosity in my voice. "Its about something Lance found." Othreal chimed in " A few days ago, he came back from his trip. But whilst he was away, he came across something strange. An artefact. But strangely, this artefact that he found has the same energy reading as Malefor." "What do you mean, the same energy reading as Malefor?" I asked him. "Why does it link to him?" "Because the artefact is something of pure evil. So dark sided in fact, that Lance had started to feel it's influence when he returned it." Yurial told me.

I thought for a second." You mean the artefact tried to turn Lance evil?" I asked Yurial. "No Spyro. Not the artefact, but whatever Malefor did to it. You see, the artefact was originally from another dimension. The one known by many as 'The Dark Place'. And he was able to not only retrieve the artefact, but was able to keep a breach stable." This wasn't good. If Malefor was this powerful, then no wonder Yurial sounded so scared earlier. " And what does this have to do with me?" I asked. Othreal responded."Because he's coming after you. Lance overheard him talking with someone." My gut dropped. "(cough) what do you mean. Why is he after me?" I sounded nervous. Othreal picked up on this almost immediately, but he said nothing.

"We don't know why he's after you, but we do know that you have to be careful." Yurial warned. I could see Othreal was looking at me. His beady brown eyes locked on to me. It's as if he was inspecting my every action. He was looking for something. "Why do I need to be careful. It's not like he's deliberately coming after me for no reason?" I told Yurial. " Spyro, are you all right? You're acting... strange." Othreal said eventually. Fuck. I was acting strange ,wasn't I. " I'm not acting strange. And yes I'm fine." I responded. "Anyway, Because Malefor was able to do this, this means that his full powers have returned." Yurial continued. " which means he's free to do what ever the hell he wants. Including finishing what he started 30 years ago." I let out a little cough. " 30 years ago, Malefor tried to kill all of the Gaurdians, with no one to stop him, he was free to carry out his plan." "Yeah. But why would he be coming after me. Why are you telling me this?" I was raising my voice

" Spyro, what's wrong? You're acting really, Really strange." Yurial asked in a worried tone. " it's nothing, honestly. I just feel a bit sick is all." I said. "Were telling you this because if he's coming after you, then you are in extreme danger. No one in history has ever stood up to him and survived. So whatever you do. Don't, go after him. Trust me, I understand completely." Othreal said. "What do you understand exactly?" I said curiously. " I understand your rage, your anger, your lust for revenge. We know about your parents. " He what? " please. Don't say it." I said. I could feel anger building up. " He killed your parents." Othreal continued. "Stop. Please." I said through my teeth. I was starting to become overwhelmed with rage. " And I understand. Losing people you love is a hard thing. And losing your parents..." That's it " SHUT UP. JUST SHUT. UP!" I stood up. I was breathing hard. My eyes burned a dark purple. " One more word, and I will end you." I said

I calmed down quickly. My rage faded. My eyes went back to the blood red that they were. I sat back down. " I. I'm so sorry. I... couldn't control myself " I felt so bad. " No no. That was my fault, I shouldn't have went there." Othreal said in a sad tone of voice. Yurial looked even more scared now. "I. Should go." He said. He left in a hurry. "Can I go please?" I asked Yurial. " Yes. If you may" he responded. "Thank you". I quickly left in a kind of slow sprint without saying a word.

CHAPTER 4 Cynders perspective.

"Hey Jade. Have you seen Spyro anywhere? I can't seem to find him." He has always seemed to be hard to find. " No, I haven't seen him since you 2 got back from you're... 'archery session' ". Is she having a laugh. She said that in a suggestive tone of voice whilst doing literal airquotes with her hands. " but if I had to guess, he would be with Lance in the combat room" she told me. " Ok thanks Jade." I responded. Spyro always spends his time either in the combat room or in recreational. The combat room was just down the hall to the left. The combat room was the biggest room in the Gaurd. If I had to guess, it was around 100x100 metres. There was a wall mounted rack where a bunch of different weapons hung. Bows, swords, even shields. There was a target on the far wall, and a climbimg wall on the back wall as well. There were candle holders dotted around every 20 metres or so.

As I approached the end of the hall, I could hear the sharp sounds of blades colliding with one another. I turned the corner and... wow. There he was, so fast, so swift, so agile. Spyro and Lance were practicing their hand to hand combat skills. He was beautiful, with his beautiful purple scales and golden accents, his beautiful red eyes. He was irresistable. And handsome... who knew purple and gold was such a handsome colour combination.

Lance was only a few years older than Spyro was. He had dark blue scales and yellow accents, he was the same height as Spyro and slightly slimmer. He had black claws and a noticable gash in his muzzle. Lance was also a good fighter, But Spyro was so, SO much better at fighting. "You'll have to try better than that newbie" he remarked at Lance. Lance was good don't get me wrong. But his technique has flaws. He uses a 2 sided blade, and he mainly focuses on defence. However Spyro, he focuses on offence, his agility and his speed makes him deadly. His use of 2 separate blades as well makes him good with defence as well. I stood there, leaning against the entrance arch just watching them, mesmerized. One day, I was going to be as good as him.

I watched, strike after strike, blow after blow landed on each other's blades. I saw as Spyro landed strike after strike in quick succession. His speed was un-matchable, Suddenly Spyro hissed in pain. He dropped his blades and clutched at his forearm, blood started dripping from his arm. Lance immediately saw this. "Oh god. Are you alright? I am so sorry." Lance said in fear. " I'm fine, just... clipped my arm a bit. Heh" he responded. I rushed to him. " Are you ok?" I asked him. " Oh hi. We're you watching that or something?" He asked. " That's not important. Let me see your arm." I said to him. I looked at it. It was bad. The wound went deep into his flesh. Im pretty sure that I could see his arm tendon contracting when he moved. I shuddered at the sight. " You need to get that fixed badly. That is so bad." I said in a shocked voice. At this point Lance was freaking out, hyperventilating. "Lance. It's not that bad. Honestly it's nothing to get worked up about." Spyro said." look. Go to your dorm, relax a little bit and don't worry about me."He had a tendency to make things seem better than they are. I guess he just doesn't want people to worry. "Yeah, you're right." Lance said. He left hastily, probably to get back to his dorm. " Are you sure you're all right?" I asked. He looked in pain. His breathing was well off. " That. Hurt. Like a mother fucker." He hissed through his teeth. " Don't tell Lance that it's this bad. I don't want him to freak out." He said. "How bad is it? Can you move your arm?" I asked him. "Yeah. It should be ok, Just. Viika will know what to do." He told me.

"Lance came by and told me what happened. Poor kid, he was stressed out." Viika said. She had a calming voice. Like, Really oddly calming. Not gonna lie, she was actually really pretty. Not as pretty as me. OBVIOUSLY. But still pretty none the less. Her white scales gleamed and glistned in the candlelight. Her bright green eyes scanned over Spyro. "Are you allright?" She asked. He looked at his arm. " yeah. It just hurts." He said while still clutching at it. Viika knew that he was lying and so did I. It was much worse than he was making it seem, but we both knew to roll with it. She inspected his arm closely. Her faced cringed with shock, but didn't say anything. He looked up at me. "So, how much did you and Jade make fun of my lack of skills then?" He said with a chuckle. "Ahhh. Well, we didn't talk about that. Although she seems to think that-" " That there's something between us? Yeah I figured." He cut me off. We both chuckled a little bit. Even Viika smiled a little. "I know Jade can be a little annoying, but she's a good friend." He said to me. "Yeah. She is." I said in agreement. Spyro winced with pain. ". Watch it will you!" He said to Viika. " sorry about that, I was cleaning your wound in case it had a chance to get infected." She responded. " we're almost done here, just need to apply the dressing." She did so very quickly. It took the most of 30 seconds to do. I respected Viika. She always helped other dragons in need.

"Make sure to come back every 2 days or so to get your bandage changed." She told him. "Yeah yeah. Sure." He said. Something about him changed very suddenly. He was all of a sudden acting... peculiar. And did his eyes change colour, or Is that just me? "Right. You are free to go, just don't get it wet." She said. He got up and left without saying a word. I followed shortly after. " Hey. Is something bothering you?" I asked him in a remorseful tone. "Oh. Yeah I'm fine." He replied with a flat voice. " No your not. Something is bothering you." I replied. " look. I'm tired, it's probably the painkiller Viika gave me. I'm fine." He said back to me. He was starting to get agitated now. " Its not good to keep any negative emotions trapped down inside-" "JESUS. I SAID IM FINE. CAN YOU JUST FOR ONCE, STOP BEING SO FUCKING ANNOYING!" he shouted at me. I looked at him. Surely he didn't mean that." Look. Just leave me alone for a little bit. I'm sorry." He then said with remorse. He then continued down towards the dorms. " What are you hiding?" I said to myself quietly.

CHAPTER 5 Cynders perspective

" I think that Spyro's hiding something" I said to Jade. " And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?" She asked me. " Ever since Lance came back, he's been acting so... strange. And I know for a fact that Malefors involved." I told her. " But how does that mean he's hiding something?" She asked. " Because Spyro's had a bad past with him before, and if he's back then no wonder he's acting odd." I told her. " You do make a good point Cynder. But why would he need to hide anything?" " If I had to guess, I think that he's in danger. I think that there's a reason that Malefor is after him. Yeah I kinda overheard his conversation with Yurial." I said to her. " Wait. Malefor is going after Spyro? That's bad." She exclaimed. " Yes I know. Trust me what ever he's hiding about it. I'm going to find out." I said reassuringly. I got up to go and leave." Wait you mean now?" She said in a slightly disappointed tone. " Yes. And I'm sorry but this... This is important to me.". " I understand." She said in agreement. Spyro's dorm was 3 doors down opposite Jades. And mine was opposite his.

Did I really want to do this? I mean, what if he's still pissed? I needed to help him. I knocked 3 times on his door. " Spyro? Please. Talk to me." I said to him. I knew he was in there. I just did. I waited for a few seconds. I didn't know if he was going to talk or not, so I waited for a few more seconds. His door opened and he was there." Please. Talk to me. What's bothering you?" I asked remorsefully. He shut the door behind me and sat down on his sofa, head in hands. " You um... you might want to take a seat." He said in a quiet voice. He genuinely sounded scared. I've never seen or heard him like this before.

" what's scaring you?" I asked him. " I'm worried about you." He looked up at me. His eyes were a beautiful crimson red. You'd expect red eyes to be a sign of evil. But not him, not spyro. " I need you to understand, whatever I say has happened. That's not me anymore. At all." He told me. " What do you mean?" " when I was younger. Malefor murdered my parents in cold blood. Jesus, everyone knows about that. But no one knows this. He tried to use me. He tried to make me into one of his own. He made me believe that HE was the good guy. And I believed it. He.. he made me." He was tearing up. "I've killed people Cynder. I'm no better than he is. I'm a cold blooded murderer." " What. You... killed people."I couldn't believe him. A killer. He couldn't possibly have it in him. " it wasn't my fault. He tricked me. He made me... Please. You have to believe me when I say, that's not me anymore. I wouldn't dare hurt you. Or anyone." He said. A tear was running down his cheek. His breathing was rugged. " I do. I believe you." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

" Cynder, his full powers are back. And he's after me. He wants to use me to kill again. He wants me by his side." He was losing it now. He was hyperventilating badly. " listen. I know you, you're too much of a good person to hurt anyone and I know you would never do that." I told him. " But there's still something that your not telling me." I told him. " please. I can't help you if you don't tell me." I said remorsefully. " I..well. You see..." His voice was breaking up. " You need to leave... Now!" He finally said. " I moved closer to him. " You can trust me, I'm here for you." I said remorsefully. "Ok fine, I'll tell you... something in me is changing. It's like since his powers have came back, my dark side has been slowly creeping back. Whenever I feel anger or sadness, I start to lose control." He was struggling to speak properly. His breathing was still heavy. He stood up, back towards me. "I'm scared in case I hurt you. And I want you to stay away from me." He turned to face me. " I don't know what I would do without you." He said tearfully. I stood up to his level and embraced him. I hugged him for a few seconds. "No matter what, I will always be here for you. Even if it kills me. I'll still be here." I said while still embracing him. He embraced me back. " You really want to stick with me, even after what I just said?" He asked in a sincere tone. " Of course. You are my closest friend. You're all I have anymore, and without you I have nothing. And you've helped me so much over the years. You and I have grown so close to each other. And to be honest, I lov... uhhhh, I don't want to lose you." We were still embraced in one another. " until the end?" He asked, still tearfully. " Yes. Until the very end."

CHAPTER 6 Spyro's perspective

" I'll see you later, I just need to get some air." I said to cynder, she nodded in agreement. She left quietly whilst closing the door behind her. I was thinking about what I should do. Should I just avoid her? To keep her safe? " Oh god. I'm such a bad friend." I said to myself. I sat down with head in hands. " I've just sentenced her to death. If I allow her to be there for me, Malefor will kill her. Or worse I will." I just sat there, breathing rapidly. " I just need air, that's all." I left quickly and within 10 minutes I was already at my... 'calm place'. The air was soothing. Not good enough, I was still stressing. All I could think about was what I would do if I lose her. I wouldn't be able to cope. "Deep breaths" I said to myself.

I walked a slow pace along a path that led through the wooded area. The calming effect slowly took effect, it was helping me to calm myself. *snap*. My head snapped left. "Who's there?" I said out loud. I could swear I heard a twig snap, I thought someone was. Watching me? How. Almost nobody comes out here. "Must be a fox or something" I said quietly to myself . I continued to the end of the path, which led to a field. Some one was standing there. I didn't recognise him, but he had almost blackish, dark purple scales. And there's only one person I know who has that. Before I had the chance to say or do anything, he extended his arm and shot a ball of black ball of... essence at me, right out of his hand.

It struck me in the chest and the force knocked me off my feet and sent me about 5 metres behind me. I turned in mid air and landed stomach first onto the grass, laying there for a few seconds. I slowly got up, it took a couple seconds to come to my senses. I was dazed and had the wind knocked out of me by the attack. When my senses came to, my assailant was right in front of me. I snapped into full motion. In less than a second, I drew my single blade and blocked the incoming attack. I was able to see him clearly now. It was him. It was Malefor. I stared at him with a look of extreme hatred, still locking blades. "You!" I said with a hiss. "Oh yes. And you have no idea how long I have waited for this." Malefor said with an evil snarl. " How. DARE YOU." I was extremely angry. My rage was quickly starting to take me. I saw him glance down at my blade strap. He chuckled a little bit "looks like your short handed. Too bad" he said. I looked at my blade holder. I forgot the other one. "I'm still fast enough to take you on" I hissed. "We shall see." He said pulling out his secondary sword. I had no chance. He struck at me with both blades, I rolled out to the side to avoid them. No matter what. He kept striking, and striking, and striking.

The fight didn't last long. Within 30 seconds he had already overwhelmed me. He hit me in the face with the gaurd of his blade with such force that I was knocked to the ground again. " You are no match for me, no one is. Your weak, just like your mother...Oh how I enjoyed the look on her face when I plunged this very blade through her heart." I stared at him with a look on my face that screamed rage. "How, dare you! I will avenge my parents" I grabbed my blade and sped towards him. He blocked my attack with ease, it's like he wasn't even trying and yet he was still winning. " interesting... very interesting. I haven't seen that since your pitiful excuse of a father." He said curiously. " What is that meant to mean?" I said angrily to him. I so desperately wanted to rip out his heart. " well. No one has ever told you what really happened to your parents... did they?" I was interested now. We stopped fighting. " What? Is this some sort of trick?" I said, less angrily now.

"Ahhh, I thought not. Well... Your parents always got along, Always have for years. And then your father came to me. Asked to be powerful, he had no care for anything anymore. He just wanted power, and he became one of the greatest." I stood for a second "what? My father... turned?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing " You mean Yurial lied to me. They all lied to me!" Malefor smiled "Oh yes, they all lied. Even your closest friend... Cynder, Isn't it? She has been lying to you, using you." "No I wont believe it. Maybe my father, but not her. She Cares for me." I ran at him again, striking fast and hard. He looked at me funnily. " So you have a dark side too... why don't you use it? Overpower me. You know you want to..."

My eyes must have been that dark purple again. I kept attacking and attacking and he kept on blocking every, single, move. "ENOUGH!" he yelled in annoyance as he struck me again. This time he sliced my chest with his blade, not too badly, but noticeable. I knelt there, panting out of breath. He struck me in the face again with his blade handle. I fell flat on my stomach. "So what, is this where you kill me?" I said. "I'm thinking about it" he replied. "You know, maybe you should just kill me, save yourself some time in the long term" I said to him. "Why? I wouldn't want to take you away from Cynder now would I? I have a different plan for you." He knelt down and rolled me over, placing his palm over my chest. The same black essence came out of his hand and into my chest. "I'll be seeing you later" he said evilly before disappearing. Whatever he did to me, it hurt. Bad. I lay there in agony. Writhing and hissing in pain. "Just kill me." I hissed through my teeth. "Yessss. Just...let it kill you. Give in already " A voice said in my head. I didn't think any of it. I thought it was just the shock. Eventually my vision went blacker. And blacker. And blacker. Until nothing.

CHAPTER 7 Spyro's perspective

I snapped awake. I laid there for a few seconds panting. I looked around. Nothing, literally just black. Was I dead? Or was I unconscious and this is all in my head. That doesn't matter. I looked around again, this time noticing a door. It was old, and rusted. I slowly got up, clutching at my arm which was now hurting badly. I glanced at it only to see it dripping blood, even with my bandage on. I slowly walked over to the rusted door. Every step I took, my claws clacked on what I presumed to be concrete. The sounds echoed throughout where I was. My hand didn't even reach the door handle before slowly creaking open. I felt like I was being watched. "Is someone there?" I said. My voice echoed. "What?" I said in a confused manner. Everything was dark. I took a few steps forward. I recognised where I was, but it was very different. The sky was a dark blood red with black clouds and streaks of black and purple lightning. The grass was brown and decayed, every step I took on the dead grass made a unnatural *crunch* as the strands broke into pieces. The trees were black and bare with no leaves whatsoever. "Am I... dead?" I said to myself quietly. It certainly looked like it, like hell in fact.

I still felt like my every action was being watched. My wings pricked a little, my breathing picked up. Someone was walking in the distance. "Oh no. Not again you bastard." I said under my breath. My rage was building. Malefor was there. I stood there, still clutching my bleeding arm, which was bleeding worse now. My anger subsided. That wasn't Malefor, it was someone else. Thank...Fuck. I was not physically able to deal with that again. "Hey!" I shouted at the figure. I started running in the strange figures direction. It just stood there, doing nothing. I ran. And ran. Until I stumbled on something. I hit the ground with some force. I landed on my wounded arm, of course. "Uhhh... Just my luck" I groaned. I got up again. The figure was gone. I looked around and it was nowhere to be seen. I looked around, again. I was really confused. This place is really, REALLY like hell. I thought to head back home. I probably needed to anyway, as my arm was bleeding badly. And it hurt a lot. I walked back with a slight limp. I didn't get far before being thrown off my senses. I heard a snap to my left. My head snapped in that direction. It looked like someone was there, almost like... me. The body shape looked similar to mine. "Who's there?" I said loudly through the dead tree forest. I turned around, only to be met with a nightmare inducing roar. I was knocked to the floor. I was able to see my attacker. It was... me? Only much, MUCH darker. And. Purple eyes. He struck me in the face really hard and rendered me unconscious.

I snapped awake... again. Only this time, everything looked normal. And I wasn't outside anymore, I was in my dorm. I started panicking. I didn't know what was happening. My breathing picked up rapidly. I heard someone walk Into the room. "Oh, spyro. How are you feeling?" Othreal asked. "How... what? I'm so confused. What happened?" I asked in a confused manner. "You were brought in by Vithnar. She was panicking saying that you were dead, and that Malefor had killed you." I processed what I had heard for a second. "Wait, so I... didn't wake up at dark?" I asked. "What! No. You've been here for 3 days. Vithnar said she had caught right of the tail end of your encounter and she brought you straight here. Why? Did you see something?" Othreal asked curiously. "Well... Malefor said that he wasn't going to kill me, he said he had... plans for me or something. He, I don't know. It felt like my soul was being sucked out of my chest. I was in agony. And then I 'woke up' only I didn't really because everything was kinda dead. I was still where I was when I passed out but it was very different. Kind of evil almost. The sky was red, the trees were black and bare with no leaves and the grass was dead and crunchy. And then... I saw myself." I rambled on. Othreal looked really confused. " What do you mean you saw yourself?" His breathing was slightly faster now. "Well. I was attacked, rendered unconscious by somebody. Me. Only my scales were much, MUCH darker. Like almost black they were that dark. My eyes were a dark purple, like what happens when I get pissed off. And... My wings were gone." I continued to explain. " You must have dreamt that then, because there is no possible way that A. You could have woken up before now. And B. How can you possibly be knocked out by yourself?" He asked. I couldn't tell If he sounded scared or confused. " I don't know."

I heard someone else enter the room. "Oh thank God your allright." I heard someone say before they practically threw themself into my arms. It was Cynder. She was hugging me so hard that my airflow was getting restricted slightly. "I heard what happened and I was so worried for you." She said. I saw Othreal leave, I guess he knew to leave us be. "Are you allright? did he hurt you?" She said in a worried tone. "I'm fine, honestly." I assured her. "Please never scare me like that again. Ever." she told me. She was tearing slightly. "Hey. What's wrong?" I asked her in a sincere tone. "Its just... I don't know what I would do without you. I mean you are the one who made me feel like I fit in. Ever since I met you, I have never been sad, or upset. Because without you, I have no one as close as you." She looked straight into my eyes. I felt like I should do something to comfort her, but I didn't know how. "Cynder, no matter what, I will always be here for you." I comforted her. She seemed happy to hear me say that. "And once I finish off Malefor, he won't be able to hurt me, or you anymore. I'm going to train long and hard and one day, I'll be ready." She looked at me funnily. "You... Just almost died. And the first thing you want to do is, go after him again?" She sounded worried. "No no. The first thing I'm going to do is train non stop. And then I'm going after that bastard." I told her. She took a step back.

"Are you insane!? I almost lost you. When I saw you being brought in, I thought you were dead. For 3 days I spoke to no one because I couldn't handle the interaction. And then I heard you were ok. All I could think about was being with you again. Because I need you." She said tearfully. I said nothing. " What about our promise? Does that mean nothing to you?" "What, promise Cynder?" I said with a slight snarl. She exhaled. "What promise! Spyro, you promised that you would be there for me until the end. And if you carry on this way, it will be the end. I need you here. I need you here for-" " I DONT CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED! WHAT YOU NEED... IS TO LET ME GET ON WITH WHAT I NEED TO DO!" I yelled at her. " And to be honest l, I honestly couldn't care less if you need me or not. Because what have you ever done for me?" I said to her in an evil snarl. I couldn't control what I was doing, i cant stop myself with what I was saying. I was hurting her and I just couldn't stop. Tears were now falling down her face. "You mean that. And that's what hurts the most." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. " I would have followed you until the very end. I would have fought by your side against him. But now... I can't even stand to look at you. You've changed. Whatever happened, whether it is because what happened with Malefor or because of something else, you are not the same Spyro that I know. I loved you, more than anything. And now I see that falling for you was a mistake." She said in a calm voice once again. I didn't care. I should've, but I didn't. Why? My closest friend, my one true love...and she's gone.

CHAPTER 8 Cynders perspective

"Cynder. I'm so sorry to hear about this." Vithnar comforted me. I was with Jade and Vithnar, crying. Vithnar was sitting next to me and Jade was in the other room. "What he said to you is... absolutely shocking. I mean I actually dislike him now. I didn't know he could be so spiteful." She said to me. "Neither did I to be honest. He's always been so sweet and kind. He always puts others before himself and is always first to help everyone. I guess that's why I fell for him." I said tearfully. I felt heartbroken. I had just lost the person I cared about most. "Do you think he meant what he said?, or was it out of anger." She said to me. I thought for a split second. He couldn't possibly say those things and not mean it. " Of course he meant it. How could you say those things and not?" I responded. Jade walked in somehow balancing 3 cups of coffee in one hand. She handed one to me and one to Vithnar. "Thank you" I said to Jade. "Who does he actually think he is doing that to you?! To his closest friend no less." Jade said angrily "oooh. Next time I see him, i might just kill him." She said in the same angry tone. She was really pissed off about this. I guess we all were.

"You and me both." I replied. " And have you heard his excuse as well. I over heard him talking to someone and do you know what he said?" Jade said. "What did he say?" Vithnar said. "He claims that he 'didn't mean' to say that he wasn't controlling himself. That he couldn't stop himself." Jade replied angrily. "How much of a bad person do you have to be to make up an excuse like that. Who does he actually think he is?" Vithnar hissed. "can we please... please stop talking about him. Please?!" I snapped angrily. "The last thing I want to talk about right now... is him." Jade and Vithnar looked at me. "I'm sorry. I just got so annoyed." Jade said in shame. "Its fine." I said to her. There was a sharp knock at the door. "Are you expecting anyone Jade?" Vithnar said. She shrugged. "I have a funny feeling about who that is." I snarled. I stood up and made my way to the door. "What the fuck gives you the right to-" I opened the door and immediately regretted what I said. "Oh Yurial. I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else." I told him.

"Do you have a minute? Viika has requested your presence." He said flatly. "Uhhhh... yeah sure." I replied hesitantly. I went with him without questioning it. Jade and Vithnar were about a meter away so they heard it so I presumed they knew why I had went. "Why does Viika need me right now?" I asked. "I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, it's probably to do with your... argument let's say." Of course it is. "How does she know about that already, we only fought last night." "Well news travels fast I guess"

AUTHORS NOTE...

It's about here that I realised that the story is progressing quite quick and may be hard to keep track of. From now on, chapters will hopefully be better and easier to keep track of this time.

Also I want to say that anyone who has read this and stuck with me throughout, thank you for that. I appreciate all of the support I can get, and I hope that you will enjoy the rest of this story. I also have plans for a sequal and possibly a third one.

Anyways I've rambled enough now. Peace...

CHAPTER 9 Cynders perspective

"I know this is none of my business, but what happened between you two. You were inseparable... practically made for each other." Viika said. " We were... inseperaple. Now I hate the guts of him. Next time I see him, I might just kill him. Not literally before you get worried." I said. She looked shocked. "Where did it go wrong. Did he hurt you?" She asked sympathetically. "Not physically. But he definitely hurt me. What he said... I don't think I can ever forgive him." Viika looked at me funnily. " What did he say to you." She said. I let out a sigh. I didn't want to go into detail, but I did anyway. " He said he didn't need me. That I was useless and that he didn't care about me." I said tearing up at this point. "He said that he couldn't care if I left him... He wanted me gone." I said sadly. " He did not!" Viika exclaimed. "Yes, He did. And the worst thing is that he meant every single word of it." "Surely not. I know him, everyone does. He isn't like that. He's sweet, kind. I can't possibly imagine him saying those horrible things." "That's what I thought. Maybe that's why I fell for him, but now I see that was a mistake." I said. She looked at me for a couple seconds, analysing the situation and thinking about what to say. "Am I overreacting?" I asked. "I... honestly dont know. Do you feel like you are." She asked me suggestively. She wanted me to fix this with him. But I didn't want to. I hated him so much. "Fuck no. He deserves everything that is coming his way." I said cruelly. She looked absolutely stunned. "Wow. That was cruel. "That's the point." I remarked.

"Look. I spoke to him earlier. The poor kids heartbroken. You need to talk to him. For his sake." Viika said with sympathy. I thought for a second. Was I actually being to mean? Should I talk to him? "He hurt me Viika. I can never forgive him. So no, I won't talk to him." I could tell that she was getting uncomfortable at this point. "Anyway, it was to nice talking to you. I'm going to train if you need me." I said to her. I quickly left before she said anything. The best part about training now, is that I can take all of my anger out on a target. I started thinking to myself about Spyro. I hated him, I didn't want anything to do with him. And yet I can't stop thinking about him. Maybe I still love him without realising it. Deep down I felt really bad about it. My concentration faded suddenly. I heard a voice talking down the corridor.

"Talk to her. If you really care about her, then talk to her." I peeked my head around the corner. Spyro and Yurial were there. Spyro looked visibly upset. "I can't. She hates me." I heard him say, now he was audibly upset. "I feel so bad about it, and how can she even forgive me. The things I said, they were horrible." "What's done is done. It's about what you do after, that's what counts." Yurial said comfortingly. I started to feel worse now. He really wanted to make things right. "I mean, surely you didn't mean what you said. Right?" Yurial asked. "What. No! Of course not. I would never, ever deliberately do that to her. I snapped in anger. I don't know why I was angry, but I did. And I feel so guilty for it." He said shakily. "How do I get her to forgive me Yurial. How do I... how do I get her to love me again?" I exhaled. He really did care. Part of me really wanted to just run up to him and hug him. But most of me hated him to death. "Eeeesh... girls are not my strong suit. But talk to her. Apologise." Yurial said. They stood for a couple of seconds. "I hate to leave you like this, but something has Othreal all shaken up. I need to go and see him about it, but if you need me I'll be in the library." "Allright, I'll see you later." Spyro said flatly.

I tucked my head back from the corner and breathed heavily for a few seconds. I heard him exhale loudly before saying "This is pointless." I heard the clacking of his claws coming closer in my direction. I took I few steps back and made it look like I had only just came down the corridor. We both turned the corner and physically bumped into one another. I didn't even bother to look at him. I just continued walking. "Cynder. I'm... so sorry." I felt a hand on my shoulder. I shot around and grabbed his hand and wrenched it off of my shoulder. I heard a satisfying crack as I did and could actually feel it in his hand. "Get. Your hand. Off me." I snarled as evilly as I could. I looked at him dead in the eye. He exhaled. "I understand, I hurt you and I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean a single word of it, at all." He spoke with a soft and gentle voice. " You pathetic creature, you hurt me beyond belief, I don't think that I can ever forgive you." I said in the same cruel tone of voice that I used earlier. "I know that what I said can never be forgiven. I really am no better than him, aren't I?" He said with a slight chuckle. That didn't last long. " But I care for you deeply. And I am so, very, deeply sorry. I feel so bad and so guilty for what I said. And the reason I care so deeply is because I... because I." He couldn't finish his sentence. "You know, I loved you so much. And I would Have followed you till the ends of the earth. I would've fought by your side without question. When I had heard about what happened with Malefor, I was scared beyond belief. I didn't talk to anyone for 3 days. And when I heard you were ok, I was so happy. And all I could think about was you... But now. I couldn't care less. Go and join Malefor for all i care. Because you deserve no one. Because all you do... is hurt people. Next time you see Malefor, I hope he hurts you, I couldn't care less, he could kill you. And I don't care. Because you and I are done." He was heartbroken by that. He struggled to get his next words out. " I... love you too. And making you feel like that, maybe I deserve what I get." He smiled tearfully at me. "Just shut up. I'm already sick of your pointless, emotionless apologies. If you really care for me, you wouldn't have said what you did. You are so, fucking pathetic Spyro. Don't ever talk to me again." I snarled at him. I realised I do that a lot when I'm angered by someone, I snarl my words at them. He didn't even say anything. He just smiled at me one last time before walking off to his dorm. "Wait... He, loved me? He actually loved me." I said quietly to myself. I was ecstatic for a brief second. But that was pushed down and murdered by my hatred. Realisticly, I hoped I never saw him again.

CHAPTER 10 Spyro's perspective

4 days had passed since Cynder shot me down how she did. I guess I deserved it. I had decided to head into the city gor a little while to gather my thoughts. The Eastern city of Ironclad was about 50 miles away from home. The best way i cam describe Ironclad, is that it is the largest and most active city on thr globe. It looks a bit like what you humans call Times Square in what you humans call New York. I was in a building near the outskirts of the city. It was quiet here, and not many people came here. It was mostly quiet, except for the bar across the street.

All I can think about now is how i can win her back, I can hear her voice calling to me. Just saying my name. "Spyro!" A voice said loudly at me. I tuned back into reality. I was in a small room, about 5 by 5 metres. There was a small table in the middle and the candles were worn out so it was kind of dark. "So what brought you to today's help group?" I looked to my left, then my right. There were 4 other dragons sitting on the table I was, they had their eyes locked onto me. I decided to try a help group to see if I could maybe know to make Cynder not hate me anymore.

I thought for a second. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Its ok. There's no shame here." A girl closest to my left said calmly. She was a few years older than me, about 4 inches taller than me. She has yellow scales and a blue accent and grey horns. Her voice was soft. The one directly opposite me was the leader of the help group. He was definitely older than me, he looked about Othreals age. Quite slender actually considering his age. He had opposites to the other girl, blue scales and yellow accents. Also with grey horns. The other two on my right were almost identical twin brothers. Both were the same age, height, body shape. Everything was similar. Both had dark green scales and black accents and horns. But I could tell them apart because the second one on my right had a scar across his muzzle. And I couldn't remember a single name. I was too busy day dreaming during introductions.

"Thanks, I guess." I said with a slight smile. " Well, a few days ago I had an argument with someone. Someone who was very, VERY, close to me. I said some things to her, horrible things. I hurt her and I feel guilty about it." I said shamefully. The leader of the group looked at me, as if he were analysing me. "How close would you say you were to her?" He said. I'm pretty sure his name was Surge. I think, I wasn't sure. "I was... passionate about her let's say. I would have done anything for her Surge. Your name is Surge, right?" I asked. "Yeah. It is. But... it seems to me that you, loved her. Didn't you?" I stared blankly at him for a second. "Surge, I think that might have been a low blow for the poor kid." The twin with the scar said. "It's fine. I mean there's no help with no information, right?" I said to the scarred kid. "Anyway, yes. I did. And I don't know what to do to fix things. I tried to talk it through with her, but she just wouldn't listen. She won't forgive me, she never will." I continued saying. "Nothing will work." I said whilst folding my arms on the table and laying my head down. "Its useless." I said muffled. "If you really cared for her, and she cared for you, then she'll eventually come to you." A calm voice said to my left. "Well said Lilith" I heard Surge's voice say. "Do you really think so?" I said to her lifting my head up from the table. "I think that yes, eventually she will see that she has been going about this the wrong way... What is her name, if you dont mind me asking?" Lilith asked. Her expression told me that she immediately felt bad for asking that. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-" "It's fine, her name was Cynder. If you want to know" I said to her.

"I recognise that name." The scarred twin said. "You what?" I asked in surprise. The scarred twin looked suspicious. "Yes, I remember her. Does she happen to have black scales, magenta accent, green eyes?" He asked. "Yes she does. How do you...?" I thought for a brief moment. Cynder, and scarface... A thing? Hell no. "I used to know her. She helped to train me, to become a better warrior. This was about 4 years ago now, and at the time I wanted to join the Gaurdians, but she told me that there were none left. She still helped me anyway." "I did not know that." I said. "All you need to know that she's kind and sympathetic. She'll understand." Scarface said to me. I still didnt know his name. "When you were training, did she ever mention me at all?" I asked hopefully. He thought for a second. "Actually, she did mention someone who she was close to. No names, she just referred as 'he' all the time." I stared blankly at him. "My name's Scar by the way. You weren't paying attention earlier were you?" He said with a slight laugh to his tone. "Admittedly I wasn't" I said with embarrassment.

"Well, I thought that went well. Lilith, Scar, Ebon and Spyro. You all helped each other out, and I think within a few sessions we will all be able overcome out problems." Surge said proudly. "Sadly, the next two weeks have been cancelled due to the building being scheduled out for a wedding." He said slightly disappointed. We all got up and Lilith, Scar and Ebon were huddled into the corner whispering amongst themselves. I decided to just walk off and leave. " Spyro... why don't you stay for a while. We could get to know you and hang out and stuff." Lilith said to me. "I would, but I need to get home, I've been gone for almost a week and no one knows where I am." She looked a little sad about that. "I'll come and visit soon though. You genuinely seem like nice people." I said before slowly shuffling my way out.

It was dark now, probably about 10 o clock if I had to guess, and it was freezing. I shivered as soon as the cold air hit me, It was never usually this cold. I didn't know whether or not to go home or to stay for another day or 2. I was enjoying myself here, but I felt lonely. Even with Cynder despising my very existence, I never actually felt like I was alone. I missed her. "Still thinking about her? 'Tsk tsk' you really are pathetic." A voice snarled at me. I hurriedly looked around, but no one was there. Just the empty street. "I'm not there Spyro...I'm here." A voice said. It had a kind of ghostly whisper to it. "What do you mean your... here? As in my head?" I was slightly scared now. I rarely ever get scared. But somehow this voice did it. "Yessssss... exactly like that. And before you ask how, I guess you will have to remember very hard then." "What do you mean, who or what are you?" I said. I must have looked like an idiot talking to myself. The ghostly voice didn't respond. Am I going crazy?

CHAPTER 11 Spyro's perspective

The walk home was terrifying. I kept thinking I was being stalked. That voice... it sounded familiar, really familiar. I'm going to end up walking all night, I could stay at an accommodation lodge halfway there, but I can't be bothered. The Guard was about 50 miles east from Ironclad and it would take about 5 hours to walk. I thought if I was going crazy. Thanks Cynder, you drove me crazy. "Oh you're not going crazy. I'm real." The voice said. "What do you want?" I said to it. "That's not important." It said cruelly. There was a burning pain that filled my skull. It was unbearable, I fell to my knees screaming in agony. I had a vision, there was me, and Cynder. I was brandishing a sword, Malefors sword. She was crying. "Please Spyro, you don't need to do this." She pleaded. "I don't need to. I want to." I said whilst laughing evilly. I drove the sword right through her chest, she exhaled loudly. I drew the blade out of her body and watched her as she put her hand out in front of her before collapsing on the ground.

Reality soon came back to me. "CYNDER!" I yelled. I looked around. I was still where I was. I lay there on the wet ground panting "What was that!?" I said angrily. "That is you."it said. "No. That's not true... I would never hurt her." I said with a hint of fear in my voice. "But you already did, who's to say you won't do it again?" It said before cackling. "What's that supposed to mean?" No response. "Answer me you spineless coward!" Still no reply.

I slowly got up and heard a snap. "Ahhhh!" I screamed in pain. My arm had dislocated at the elbow. It was bent at an unnatural angle. I tried to put it back in place, but it wouldn't budge. I sat on the still wet ground, panting again. "Hey Spyro." I heard a familiar voice say. I turned my head around. Lilith was there. "Are you allright?" She asked. "What are you doing here? Are you, following me?" I asked her. "I uhh.. heard you talking with someone outside before I left. You sounded scared. So I decided to follow you a little to make sure you were ok." She said with shame. "That's, very thoughtful of you." I said to her. Lilith's look of shame vanished. "Do you want help with that? It looks painful." She said looking at my arm. She trudged over to me. "Just relax. Don't tense your arm." She said calmly. She put my arm in her hands. She looked for a second. "This is going to hurt." She said before yanking my arm to where it should be. My arm popped back into place with a horrifying snap. I expected pain, but none came. Lilith's face cringed as she pulled my arm into its socket. "Did that not hurt?" She said in surprise. "Surprisingly no." I said surprised. "Are you sure...?" The ghostly whisper voice in my head said evilly. My arm immediately filled with an unbearable burning pain. I screamed in agony and fell to the ground, clutching at my arm. "Spyro! What's wrong?" Lilith said in exclamation. "My arm... it hurts." I hissed through my teeth. "Ok. I... don't know what to do..." she said in a panicked voice. The pain didn't last long, it already started to die down. "Its fine, it's going away." I said while slowly getting up off of the floor. "What happened Spyro?" Lilith asked sincerely. "I... you won't understand." I said sheepishly. "Try me. I can handle it." She said confidently.

*one hour later*

"Wow. Wait... so you fought Malefor, and survived?" She asked in surprise. "Yep, that happened." I replied. Lilith and I were sitting on a random bench that we came across. We had spent the last hour chatting and getting to know each other. "In sorry to hear about your parents by the way. You really only have Cynder left, don't you?" I thought about Cynder for a few seconds. I felt tears forming, but quickly blinked them back. " Yeah. I do... You know, you're actually a nice person once I get to know you." I said. She blushed slightly. "you're not so bad yourself." She said. I looked up at the sky. I could see the sun ever so slightly rising on the horizon. "I hate to leave, but I really must get going. Yurial must be going nuts right now." I said with a slight chuckle. " Please visit us soon." Lilith asked me. " I would love to. You guys genuinely seem like good people." I remarked. "Goodbye for now." She said whilst waving. I turned around and walked back home. Most relaxing 5 hours ever.

CHAPTER 12 Cynders perspective

So comfy. Best sleep ever. I turned onto my right side and glanced at the clock on my wall. My eyes widened. "Fuck. I'm late!" I exclaimed. I rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a dull thud, I quickly rushed to the other room and rushed out the door. It was 9:45 AM. And I was meant to be outside for trials by 9:20. I kept stressing about it. It took less than a minute to get to where the others were. Even Spyro. I hated him less now than I did 4 days ago. Maybe I did overreact.

"Ahhh. Cynder, I began to think you weren't coming today." Yurial said enthusiastically. He was always enthusiastic about trials. This was where potential Gaurdians were selected and began to train. "Yeah, sorry about that. I overslept." I said sheepishly. I glanced over at Spyro and saw that he was practicing with his blades. "Everyone. Front and centre." Othreal made his presence known. Everyone, including myself formed a line side by side in front of the Gaurdians... and Lance. Yoznir was on my left and Spyro was on my right. I glanced right and saw that he looked nervous. "You nervous?" I asked him. He didn't reply for a split second. I thought he was ignoring me. "Kind of. I mean I don't want to make a fool of my self now do I?" He said to me happily. Wow. He Talked to me. "Does this mean that you don't hate me anymore?" He asked. " I wouldn't go that far." I responded.

"Now. As you all know, today is trials. Not all of you will pass. Maybe none of you will pass. But know this. Any effort shown takes courage. You have chosen to participate in this because you are brave, courageous. And that is what matters in the end. You may fail today, but redeem yourself later... what's done is done. It's what you do after, that's what counts." Yurial said looking at Spyro. He hung his head in shame. Yoznir chuckled quietly. " He has no idea, does he?" She whispered close to me. "Let me guess, Jade told you?" I said in a stern voice. "Yep." She chuckled again. I looked back at Spyro. He clearly looked uncomfortable. "Now, if everybody would like to proceed. Jade and Vithnar. Please, step forward." Othreal said. The both of them walked up to in between us and the Gaurdians. They stood five feet apart and bowed. Jade was handed a retractable staff, and Vithnar was handed 2 short blades. Each about 8 inches long with a serrated top. They were black in coloration. A sharp whistle split the air and the 2 of them locked weapons. The trial had begun.

Both were equally skilled. Every strike of Vithnars blades hit Jades staff with a dull thud. This was entertaining to watch. "Remember, focus on your enemies technique. Watch their weapon, not them. Look for a weak spot." Yurial said helpfully. 2 minutes had passed and both fighters were out of breath. They stood panting. Another sharp whistle split the air. "Thank you Jade and Vithnar. Would you please stand back with the others." Othreal said loudly. They liked to alternate really.

An hour and a half had passed. I had fought Jade, Vithnar and Yoznir. I was yet to fight... Spyro. And he was yet to fight me. I was already tired, but he wasn't even phased by it. I had no chance. Spyro and I were stood five feet apart from each other and bowed. "Good luck... your going to need it." Spyro said comically. "We'll see about that." I replied. " I really can't tell if you still hate me or not." He said. " Oh I still do, I just don't want to erupt in front of everyone." I said cruelly. He saddened when I said that. "Can we please talk?" He asked. "Here's the deal, you beat me at this fight, we talk. I completely annihilate you, we don't. Sound fair?" I said half comically half cruelly. "Deal." He said cooperatively. I was handed my weapon. A sword and a short blade. Spyro was handed his dual blades. We both looked at each other. He looked focused.

A sharp whistle split the air to indicate the start of the fight. I immediately pounced towards him, and he pushed me away with ease. This is going to be harder than I thought. He ran towards me with speed and struck towards me with one of his blades. The next minute was just me and him striking and blocking. "You really are committed, aren't you?" I snarled. I leapt into the air and twisted as I kicked him In the face and sent him flying. I landed gracefully only to see Spyro charging back at me. He was faster than before now. Strike after strike. I couldn't keep up. He had knocked my short blade out of my hand. I instinctively, I thrusted my tail forwards to stun him. My tail had a blade on the end of it and I had completely forgot about it.

I could hear my bladed tail drive into his chest. He groaned with pain and looked down at his chest to see my tail driven into his chest. I retracted my tail out of his chest. I felt so bad. He fell to the floor struggling to breathe properly. "Spyro. I'm so sorry. I... I didn't mean to." I said in shock. Yurial and Viika immediately rushed over to him. Jade tried to but was restrained by Othreal. "Everyone stay back." Othreal said. "Spyro. Stay with me." Yurial said shakily. Spyro was gasping as he tried to intake oxygen. I looked at my tail, which was covered in blood. Spyro's blood. "Cynder what did you do?" Viika exclaimed. I was hysterical. " I didn't mean to. It was instinctive." I cried. I knelt down next to him. "You. *ngh* psycho bitch!*ngh*" Spyro said in between breaths. "Get away from *ngh* me." He said in pain. I had my hands over his wound to try and stop the blood. The blood was pooling around him on the floor. I looked down at the floor and already a puddle has formed. He went lifeless. "Spyro...?" I said in shock. Yurial immediately checked him for a pulse. "He's still alive, but we need to get him to the infirmary. Fast!" Yurial said in shock. He picked Spyro up in his arms and immediately rushed inside. "I...I..." I couldn't say anything. My breath was ragged and I was shaking all over. " Cynder... he'll be fine, Yurials a great surgeon. Why did you do that?" Yoznir said next to me. She had her arm around me, trying to comfort me. " it was instinctive. I didn't even think about doing that." I said shakily.

"I know you hated him, but holy shit. I didn't think you would try to kill him!" Jade exclaimed. "I didn't mean to Jade."

CHAPTER 13 Cynders perspective

I was pacing back and fourth outside of the infirmary ward. I couldn't believe what I had done. I looked back at my tail, I almost broke down again after seeing the dried blood on my tail blade. I went inside after contemplating whether or not I should. Yurial was there reading something. "Cynder. What are you doing here? It's past midnight" Yurial asked quietly as to not wake Spyro. "I... needed to see him, to see if he is ok. I feel guilty for it." I said quietly to Yurial. I looked over at Spyro. He was asleep, lying on his left side with his back towards us. He had a bandage wrapped around his upper torso. "He will be fine. I've stabilised him and he should hopefully make a full recovery. Speaking of... Why did you do that to him?" He asked me. "I didn't mean to. It was instinctive, he knocked my blade out of my hand and I instinctively used my tail blade. But I wasn't thinking, I just did it. If I could do anything to go back in time to stop myself, I would." I said slightly tearily. "I thought you two had a falling out." Yurial said. " I don't hate him as much. I'm still a little bit hurt, but it genuinely seemed like he wanted to fix things. I... kind of eavesdropped on you two. In the corridor. He was heartbroken, I could hear it in his voice." I said shamefully. "And since he was gone for a few days, I had time to reflect. I overreacted, big time. Because I noticed that because of his past, he really has no control over his anger. It's like he's a whole different person. It really wasn't his fault." "So you've noticed it too." Yurial asked.

"Noticed what?" A voice behind us said. I darted around. Spyro was there standing, hand over his wound. His bandage had a blood stain where the wound was. "Nothing." Yurial said quickly. "What are you doing up, you need rest." He said. " What I need, Yurial. Is some time alone." Spyro said. I walked up to him. He put out his hand to prevent me from getting closer. "That's close enough." He said to me sternly. "Yurial, could you give us a few minutes?" I asked him. He quickly shuffled away without saying a word. "Look. I understand why you snapped. You can't control your anger. " I said to him. "I really appreciate your attempt to make me feel better, but what's done is done." He said calmly. "So... are we friends again." I said suggestively. He smiled at me. "Get here you." He said while hugging me. I hugged him back. I could hear him exhale slightly. "I'm so sorry about everything Spyro. Shooting you down like that, almost killing you." I said quickly. "I guess it's karma for me. I deserve it. But at least I have you back." He said happily. I was happy once again. I had my closest friend back.

We stopped hugging and were left in an awkward silence. "What now?" I asked him. "Well I am absolutely shattered so I'm off to sleep, so I guess I'll see you later then." Spyro said. "Do you mind if we take a walk before, I have some things I want to get off of my chest." I said sheepishly. "I'm fine with that." He said smiling at me.

*15 minutes later*

I was happy once again, Spyro and I were lying under the nights sky. We were about 10 minutes away from the Gaurd, situated on a hill. There wasn't much around, just grass. We were stargazing. It couldn't get more peaceful than this. The only off putting thing was Spyro's ragged breathing. I was lying next to him, and all I could hear was the gentle breeze and his breathing. "Are you allright?" I asked worriedly. " if you're worried about my weird breathing, it's fine. I don't blame you. And I'm sorry for calling you a psycho bitch." He said apologetically. " Its fine." I replied to him. A thin streak of orange light flew across the stars. "Did you see that?" Spyro said to me. "Yeah. A shooting star. You never see them around much." I said. I felt so relaxed. I was surprised that Spyro accepted me back as easily as he did. "Make your wish Cynder." When a shooting star passes, anyone witnessing makes a wish. I closed my eyes and thought of my wish. "Done" I said. "What did you wish for?" He asked me. "It wont come true if I reveal what I wanted." I said to him. He smiled at me. " Although it won't hurt to tell one dragon. Right?" I said to him suggestively. "Makes sense." He said in a slightly sarcastic tone. We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. That beautiful crimson red always gets me. "Cynder, I... I need to tell you something." He said to me in a scared tone. He didn't sound fearful, but he was reluctant, almost embarrassed. He stood up. The moon light shone on his purple scales. "Wow!" I exclaimed as I stood up as well. He... looked like Malefor. A really hot Malefor. I walked closer to him. "You don't need to say anything. I know." I said quietly to him. I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. My breathing sped up, and so did his. "Cynder?" He said in a questioned tone. "Don't say anything. Just let my wish come true." I said as I moved my head closer to his and closed my eyes.

CHAPTER 14 Spyro's perspective

I slowly opened my eyes. I was in my dorm. There were books and my jacket on the floor. I had a massive headache. I glanced at the small clock on my dresser next to me. It was 1 PM. I thought I should probably get up as 1 PM was plenty late enough. I could hear voices talking outside. "You knock." One said. "No. You do it." The other said. I glanced back at my clock and saw an almost empty vodka bottle. "That explains the dizziness." I said to myself quietly. I couldn't remember the night before, I was too hungover. "Knock then." A voice said outside. Was there 2 or 3, I couldn't tell. I got out of bed and stumbled my way to the door. I opened the door. It was Jade, Vithnar and Yoznir. "How about no one knocks. I have a huge headache." I said in a joky voice. All 3 were smiling weirdly. "Am I part of a joke? Or what." I asked. "Noooo..." all 3 said in unison. "So how did last night go?" Jade asked suggestively. I blanked for a couple seconds. "What happened last night? I'm hungover. I have no memories of yesterday to be honest." I said. "Yeah no kidding. Your breath stinks of vodka." Vithnar said while laughing. I hissed in pain. My chest hurts like hell. "Oh yeah... how did that go down with her?" Jade asked. I looked down at my chest to see it wrapped up in bandage with a patch of red in the middle of it. "Its coming back to me now. Cynder almost killed me." I said. "Aw well. What you gonna do about it." I said slightly slurred. "She may have almost killed you... but that's not all." Jade said before giggling slightly. "I'm confused. Why are you here actually?" I asked them. No one answered. "We should probably leave you be for a little bit, you probably need to eat and stuff." Vithnar said. "Yeah, good idea." I said. They waved me off before walking off. I closed the door and sat down at the table in my kitchen area. "What the hell did Jade mean 'that's not all'. Cheeky little dragon." I said to myself.

A quick cup of coffee seemed to clear my head a little. I thought about what I just wasted 2 minutes of my life on. I needed some chill time. I decided to head to the garden. Which is basically the temples outdoor area. The garden was about the same size as the dorm building, and was situated right in the middle of the Gaurd. There was a tree planted in the centre of the garden. An apple tree to be precise. There was a circle of grass aroumd the tree. About 7 metres from the tree to the brick floor. It was relaxing here. Not as much as my calm place, but still quite relaxing. I plucked a red apple of the tree and took a bite out of it. There was a reason I loved apples.

So. Damn. Sweet.

"Hey you." Cynder said behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. I looked to my left and saw her close up. "Oh. Hi." I said in surprise. She said nothing, she just looked at me. "You're drunk." She finally said. I guess she could smell the vodka. "Oh. Yeah... I don't know why or how. I don't even remember what happened last night. And Jade and the lot came by earlier and said some strange things." I said to her. "Are you sure you don't remember last night.?" Cynder said suggestively. " No... but I guess we made friends again." I said slightly slurrily. She walked up from behind me and came face to face with me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself closer to me. "Maybe this will help you jog your memory." she said before pulling my head towards hers.

"Mmmmm. I love apple." She said in a seductive tone of voice after coming up for air. I looked at her in slight shock. "Wow. I was not expecting that." I said in surprise. "That wasn't what you said last night." She said suggestively... again. "Wait... did we..." I said in shock. "No. But you certainly are a great kisser if I had to say." She said with a slight laugh. "You what!" I said in shock.

"And I may have told Jade, who may have told Vithnar, who may have told Yoznir..." "So that's what she meant by 'and that's not all'." I said to her statement. We stared at each other for a second. I thought to myself. I must be the luckiest dragon in the world to have a girl like Cynder. I moved my head closer to hers, and she did the same.

"Awwwww... you two are so cute together." Jade said as she had caught me and Cynder. We both separated and looked at her. Cynder chuckled and I froze. "I take it you remember what happened now?" She said. "Uhhhh... Yeah. I do." I said hesitantly. I didn't know whether to laugh or walk away, but I stuck with the two. " Is that why you were loitering around my dorm earlier.?" I asked Jade. "Maybe." She said in a playful tone. Cynder wrapped her arms around me again and put her head on my shoulder. "Aww. Yoznir is going to love this." Jade said. "And I'm going to love what is going to happen next." My ghostly voice friend said...

CHAPTER 15 Spyro's perspective.

"How are you feeling Spyro?" Yurial asked. "I'm feeling ok." I replied. It had been a week now since Cynder turned me into a dragon kebab. My wound still hurt, but thankfully it was healing as expected. Some good did come out of that though. Cynder and I had been together for a full week. And honestly, I had never felt happier. "Well, your bandage has been changed and you are free to go about your daily business." Yurial informed. "I need to ask something, I'm hearing things. A kind of ghostly voice in my head." I said in a serious voice to him. "Do you know what could be causing this?" I asked him. "I don't know." He responded. "When did you start hearing it?" Yurial asked. "just less than 2 weeks ago now." I responded. "Uh huh. It seems that you uh... started hearing it straight after you and Cynder fell out." He said. "You started hearing it because your brain created it as a coping mechanism." He said oddly proudly. "Yeah... now that I'm hearing it, that does seem like what happened." I said shamefully. "Thanks for the help Yuri." I said before shuffling out the infirmary.

"You, really think that I'm just a FUCKING COPING MECHANISM!" The voice screamed at me. "IM MORE REAL THAN YOU KNOW!" it continued. "No. You are just a figment of my imagination. You are nothing." I said to myself...well to the voice, but it looks like I'm going crazy. The voice didn't say a word after that. I continued down the corridor. "Hey, Spyro. How ya doing?" Lance asked enthusiastically. "I'm...good." I replied. "I'm just tired." Lance was leaning against the wall twirling a dagger in his hand. "I don't blame you. It is like what, 1 AM?" He asked. "Yeah sure. Let's roll with that." I said flatly. "Allright. I won't keep you back. Go and enjoy your sleep kiddo." He said In the same enthusiastic tone. "Right. Catch you tommorow Lance." I said before shuffling off. "I will make your life a living fucking hell." The voice said. "And how do you plan on doing that exactly?" I replied. I was in one of those moods where I couldn't care about what was going on anymore. I was that tired. "Oh I have my ways." It snarled. "Spyro... who are you talking to?" I heard Jade ask me. I turned around to see her slinking up towards me. "Oh. No one."I said hesitantly. If I told her, she wouldn't believe me. "You were definitely talking to somebody." She said. She stood there, arms folded just glaring at me. She wouldn't stop until I said something. "Ok fine. I was... uhh. Reciting. Yeah." I blurted. "Really. You pathetic fuck." The voice snarled at me. "Reciting...? Reciting what. WAIT! Are you reciting a love speech!?" Jade exclaimed. She had a huge smile. Fuck it. "Yeah. You caught me." Why did I say that. I'm so stupid. "Awww. That's so sweet." Jade said. " I won't keep you." She said before skipping off back to the Gaurd. "By the Ancestors. You are so fucking pathetic. Why do you even bother?" The voice snarled at me. "SHUT THE FUCK UP." I yelled in annoyance at the voice. I waited for a few seconds. No response. "Finally. Peace and quiet." I remarked before entering the dorm building as quietly as I could as to not wake anyone sleeping.

CHAPTER 16 Spyro's perspective

"Please. Stop this. This isn't you!" Cynder pleaded. "Oh ho... this is all me." I sneered. I went to strike her with my blade. "Now... DIE!" I yelled as I struck. She rolled out of the way. I noticed that something felt off about the atmosphere. Something... peculiar. We were battling in an old run down stone chamber. There was an old rusted door about 4 meters tall placed in the center of the wall. "Agh. STAY STILL! YOU LITTLE SNAKE!" I yelled at her. "Spyro. Stop this. This isn't you... Come back to me." Cynder said. Now in tears. I cackled evilly. "Its no use. He's gone. And your fear... mmmm." I took a deep breath in through my snout. "I just love the smell of fear in the morning." I said evilly. I reached out and shot a streak of black lightning out of my palm and into her chest. This immediately brought her to her knees as she screamed in agony. I watched her scream and writhe in pain for about 15 seconds. I stopped the lightning and watched as she slowly got up onto her claws. She stood there, breathing harshly. She looked right at me with tears in her eyes. "Please." She said quietly. I stood still for a second, before dashing towards her, driving my blade through her heart.

As I did so, my eyes snapped awake. I wrenched my upper body up so I was sitting upright. "CYNDER!" I screamed as I did so. I looked around, panting extremely heavily. I was in my dorm. "Oh thank the Ancestors."I relieved as I realised that it was just a nightmare. I glanced at my bedside clock. *3.20 AM* "Fucking fantastic." I remarked. There was no way I was getting back to sleep now. I laid back down so I was flat on my back. My chest was hurting now from suddenly lurching forward. This was the 3rd nightmare in a row now. The past 3 nights i had been woken up by the same horrifying nightmare. I was starting to get worried now. Maybe my little voice friend was doing something to me.

*crack* I heard a sound coming from my window. I got up and went to investigate. A roof tile had fallen off and shattered on the outside ground. I could swear i heard someone shuffling around outside. "Who's there. Show yourself!" I yelled out of my window. No one was there. I was being delusional. "By the Ancestors. What is happening to me?" I asked myself quietly. I still had that weird feeling that I was being watched. I always have this feeling. I know it's stupid. But it's how I feel. I closed my window and went into my little kitchen area. It was about 2 metres squared. So quite small. There was only a cooker and a sink with a fridge plopped in the corner. I pulled the fridge door open, deciding what to eat or drink. I had a sudden craving for meat. "Mmmmm. I would kill for a nice juicy steak too." My voice friend said in a snarl. "Oh look. The prodigal son returns." I said sarcastically. "What do you want from me, why are you in my head?" I said slightly angrily. I was annoyed that this... thing wouldn't leave me be. "Right now... food." It said. I was feeling hungry too. "Ahh. Don't you just love the smell of fresh meat?" It said. I took a deep breath in through my nose. Something smelt amazing. Mouth wateringly tantalizing. "Wow. You're right. It does smell good." I said in an evil tone without realising. "Wait, I don't even have any meat in my fridge, what the hell smells so good?" I said worriedly. The voice cackled at my statement. "Oh don't you worry about that. Worry about the assassins on your roof." It said. "WAIT WHAT!" I yelled. I immediately shot to my window. "I know you're up there!" I yelled up to my new roof neighbours. "Fuck. We've been compromised!" I heard a male voice snap. I leapt out of the window and the assassins jumped off of the roof and onto the ground below. One of them hit me in the face with their fist. It took a second for me to regain my vision. They ran with incredible speed. But not incredible enough. I soon gave chase.

I was slowly catching up to them, running as fast as my legs would go. "Yes. After them!" My voice friend said. I saw one of them turn around to look at me. "Shit! He's still after us!" They said. I saw them turn back around only to get hit by a low branch. "Now's my chance." I said under my breath before leaping onto my escapee. It was a boy, about my age. He had white scales and a black accent. He had no wings, only scars of where they used to be. "Ugh. Get off of me!" He shouted. He struggled to get free. I grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground. "Who are you! And why are you stalking me!" I shouted in his face. His purple eyes focused onto my gaze and stared hard into me. I slammed his head into the floor again. "ANSWER ME!" I yelled even more aggressively. He started to let out a slow laugh. "Heh. You are completely fucked. You know that right?" He said with a sneer. I heard someone run towards my direction. I looked up and saw the other escapee charging towards me. I immediately dove out of the way. "Dammit Brazer! How many times do I have to tell you to watch where you're going. You daft bastard!" The second one scalded angrily. She stared straight at me. She had a mixture of black and green scales in a zig zag pattern, and she had light green accents. Again, no wings and purple eyes. "Oh I'm sorry Nadder. I was too busy spotting for this purple bastard." Brazer said sarcastically. The both of them were circling me. I had Brazer in my sights, but I could sense that Nadder was behind me just waiting to pounce at any second. "Your eyes, they're purple. You're Malefors servants." I exclaimed. "You're here to kill me." I said with a sneer. "Maybe. Depends how much you piss me off." Nadder said sarcastically from behind me. I looked back for a short moment. I saw Nadder twirling a single blade in her hand. I went to reach for my blade holder, but soon realised I wasn't wearing it. I looked back and saw Brazer arming himself with 2 blades. "IDIOT!" my voice friend screamed at me. I didn't reply. It's bad enough that I'm being hunted, but I didn't want to seem crazy now did I? "Ha. This will be easier than I thought." Brazer said evilly before charging at me at full speed.

I hastily rolled to the side to avoid the incoming attack. I could now see Brazer and Nadder. They were both armed, and I was not. I thought to my self. How the fuck was I getting out of this predicament. "Take their weapons" I thought to myself. "Good idea." My voice friend said in a non sarcastic or evil tone for once. "But how was I going to take one of their blades? It's not like they are just going to hand them to me." I thought to myself, now realising that I could now talk telepathically to my voice friend. "Brute force." It said harshly. "I like your style." I thought back. I took a couple steps back and thought about what to do. Charging at them would likely result in me being stabbed again. Waiting for them to charge me will also most likely get me stabbed. I had no choice. Problem was, how bad would I get hurt. "Oh fuck this." I thought as I sprinted toward Brazer. I tackled him to the floor. as I did, he let out a sharp gasp as if he had been winded. I sensed Nadder about to strike, so I extended my wings and used them to shield the attack. I felt a sharp pain in my right wing. I flapped my right wing and heard Nadder hiss as I struck her in the head. Brazer tried to push me away. I took a step back and underestimated his speed. He charged towards me and pushed his blade through my shoulder. An agonising burning pain now filled my arm. I had no time to pull it out, I didn't even make a sound. After all, signs of weakness is the enemies uprising.

Nadder sprinted up from behind me and struck the back of my head with her blade Gaurd. This had knocked me down to the floor now. I knelt there panting, both in exhaustion and pain. Brazers blade was still in my shoulder. "Well. Well. Well... what to do, with you." Nadder said with a snarl. "We can't kill you. But I don't want to leave you unscathed." Brazer chimed in. "You can try." I said in a tough tone. "SHUT IT!" Nadder screamed as she full force punched me in the face. My head twisted back as I spat blood. I stared straight into Nadders evil purple eyes. "Yes. Your rage is intense. Let it all out. You know you want to." My voice friend said. Both Nadder and Brazer looked at me in fear. "Oh I intend to." I said aloud. "Every. Single. Ounce of it." I snarled. "Nadder? We should run." Brazer said in fear. I stood up and yanked the blade out of my shoulder. I quickly noticed that it had healed within 4 seconds. "What the fuck!" Nadder exclaimed in confusion. "His eyes!" She pointed at me. I could feel my rage building, my thoughts were filled with brutal ways to rip them apart. I looked down at my hands, they had went darker. Much darker. So had my chest. All my scales in fact had turned darker. And my eyes a bright purple. I stood there, twirling Brazers blade. "What. You scared?" I said with an evil laugh. I tossed the blade toward Brazer with the hope that he would drop his Gaurd and try to catch it. He did. Fucking idiot.

I rushed toward him and pinned him against a tree. I held my hand on his throat and lifted him up with one hand. He started to gag as I did so. "You're... Connected." He said with a struggle. I didn't take notice. I just squeezed his neck harder and harder. "STOP!" Someone screamed from behind me. "You aswell?" Nadder said with anger. I heard her take a step. "Don't you fucking dare." I said as threatingly as I could. Nadder stopped in her tracks. I heard someone come up next to me. "Let him go. It's not worth it." Cynder said next to me. I still had my gaze fixed onto Brazer. He was choking to death slowly, but surely. "Please." She said. I released my grip and Brazer fell to the floor with a crunch. "You psycho!" He exclaimed before sprinting away in fear. Nadder followed closely behind. I turned my head to look at Cynder. Her face dropped in fear. "Spyro... your... your eyes!" She exclaimed whilst taking a few steps back. "Oh Cynder. You always were his favourite." I said evilly.

AUTHORS NOTE 2

So from now on, Spyro will have 2 perspectives. That won't be apparent now. But later on, Dark Spyro will start being included more. Where as when Dark Spyro is around. Regular Spyro won't be. If you couldn't guess by now, the voice he was hearing was indeed... DARK SPYRO.

CHAPTER 17 dark Spyro's

perspective

"Spyro. You... you." She said in fear. "Cynder, Cynder, Cynder." I tutted. "I can see why he fell for you." I snarled. "He?" She said in confusion. " Oh yes. I'm here now. He... isn't here right now." I hissed at her. "What... do you mean by that?" She said worriedly. "I...I..." I was swaying from side to side. I felt really light headed. "Woo... that's odd." I said before passing out and hitting the floor with a dull thud.

CHAPTER 18 Cynders perspective

"Come on. Wake up!" I said in a worry. Spyro had collapsed on the floor, he wasn't breathing. "COME ON!" I yelled at him. I tried to put pressure on his chest to get him to breathe again. I didn't even know CPR. I only saw someone do it a few years ago. 1...2...3...4...5... "Fuck sake. Wake up!" I hurried. 29...30...31... Suddenly he shot up with a gasp. He sat panting for a few seconds, looking around until he saw me. "Cynder." He said still panting. "You're alive!" I said back to him with glee. "What happened. All I remember is being punched in the face by someone. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the floor." He said shakily. "You..." I hesitated. I thought best not to say anything about it. "You were on the floor when I found you, you weren't breathing." I said. I lied of course. If he really was under Malefor's influence, and I told him that i knew, we would all be dead. It was best to pretend to know nothing of this, just to be sure. " Well. It's lucky you found me then." He said with a slight chuckle. I helped him up and proceeded to give him the biggest hug ever. "You idiot." I said to him. "Please stop." I said now audibly upset. "Hey. What's wrong?" He said sympathetically. "Its you. You can't keep doing this. Going up against Malefor, you almost died. Disappearing all of a sudden for almost a week, I thought you had done one. And now running after those dragons, you almost died again. I can't keep doing this, I can't lose you." I scalded with sadness. "I love you. And I need you." I said to him in a quiet voice. He hugged me back. "I love you too. And I'm sorry for scaring you. But I'm being hunted by Malefor. I don't know what to do. I'm scared." He said shakily. "But i know this. I know that I will never, ever leave you." He said in a serious voice. I looked up at him. His crimson eyes seemed to shine. They were purple a few minutes ago. And now they're not. I didn't know if I could trust him, but I loved him too much to care. " come here you." He said to me lovingly. He hugged me harder, as if he didn't want to let go. "We need to get back. It's late." I whispered to him.

It was peaceful. Just me and Spyro walking home, hand in hand. I could feel him shaking slightly, I could tell he was scared. "Hey, do you mind if we take a slight detour?" He asked me. "Not at all." I replied. "Where are you intending to go?" I asked him. He looked blankly for a second. "Uhhh... I need to calm myself." He said shakily. I didn't say anything. I couldn't. All I could think about is, what if he WAS evil...? And why? I mean Malefor. Really? Why choose him? All he's going to do is kill you when you're no longer of use. I let out a loud sigh. "Something bothering you? I mean other than me almost dying... again." He asked me. "No. Not really. I'm fine." I replied. We had made it to Spyro's calming field within no time. I could see why he liked it here. So calming. I could see the sun starting to rise in front of me. The soft glow of orange had now filled the field. I looked at Spyro, who was sitting on the grass next to me. His scales shone as the orange light reflected off of him. I looked back forward. It was beautiful. The sunrise looked amazing. "Its so beautiful." Spyro said from my left. "Yeah. It is." I replied. I looked at him, but he wasn't looking at the sunrise... he was looking at me. This was awkward. I didn't know what to do. Clearly he didn't either. "We should get going back, we've been away with no knowledge of our whereabouts almost all night." Spyro eventually said. "Mmmm. No. They can wait a little longer. I have an idea of my own." I said in a suggestive tone. He stared at me blankly for a second. He knew exactly what I meant by that... I hope. "Uhhh... what if Jade catches our scents on each other. She will NEVER shut up then." I started shuffling closer to him. "That's what makes it more the fun." I said in the same suggestive tone whilst still moving closer. I could hear his breathing pick up in pace again. I made my move, and he let me. A few seconds went by. "Wait. I... i dunno about this." He said as he came up for air. I could still taste vodka as I licked my lips. The thought of him drunk amused me. I let out a small chuckle. "What's so funny?" Spyro asked. I looked back at him. "Nothing. And by the way, if anyone finds out. Then they will soon realise that we are one step above them." I said with a slight laugh. We stared into each other's eyes again. I know he wanted to. "Fuck it!" He exclaimed as he darted himself onto me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

What was going to happen next... well let's just wait and see...

CHAPTER 19 Cynder's perspective

"Jade. Can NOT. Know. No one can otherwise I'll never be able to live this down." Spyro said still with a slight pant. "You're really still out of breath?" I scalded with sarcasm. "Yeah. I am." He replied flatly, still breathing heavily. "Don't judge me." He said with a chuckle. "Oh I'm not." I replied suggestively. He stared right at me. And then we just laughed. "Come on... we need to get going." Spyro said as he leapt up to his feet. "Hoo. I'm dizzy." He said as he swayed a little. "Steady there big guy." I said jokily. I got up as well. "You ok?" I asked seriously. I had forgotten about him collapsing earlier. I was to busy thinking about... Something else. "Yeah. I'm fine... hey, you don't think Brazer and Nadder are watching us do you?" He asked seriously. "Hell no. They come near me, and I'll rip their heads off." I viciously snarled. He glared at me for a second. "Remind me never to piss you off." He said. "Duly noted." I remarked. I couldn't help but to just stare at him. I don't know why. "We really should get back. After all, your scent is all over me. I need a shower or something." I said finally being able to take my eyes off of him. "Same." He replied.

*back at the Gaurd*

"What you are telling me... I almost don't believe you." Othreal said seriously. "I'm telling you what I saw. His eyes, they burned purple with hatred. And his scales were almost black!" I said back. "You're inferring that Spyro is under Malefor's influence. You do realise how serious that is?!" Othreal exclaimed. "I know. Believe me, I would give anything to be wrong. But you and I both know his past, and what we've hidden from him... for his sake. You know better than anyone about his entire family backstory." I scalded. "Sooner or later, your going to have to come clean. And I'm telling you, he is going to be pissed with you." Othreal stared blankly at me. "I see... you're right Cynder. He needs to know the truth. But now, is not the time." He said wisely. "And the more important matter is these assassins. Now they know of Spyro's true self, Malefor is going to seem pretty interested now... how did you know about that might I ask? Because you told me that you found him collapsed on the floor." He said suspiciously. "Yes... and no." I said shyly. "I may have twisted the truth a little bit. But only to make sure that we were alone. What really happened is that I heard someone shouting outside, I went outside to look and saw Spyro running after 2 dragons. So I went after them and saw Spyro in his... true self?" I said shakily. It had only dawned on me how bad this really was. "Indeed. So you lied to keep spyro from seeing the truth. Because if he knows that you know, he will kill us all. If he is evil I mean." He said. I just glared at him. No words came to my mind. "What if the Dark Crystal that Lance found is doing something?" I asked curiously. Othreals face lit up. "You know. That is true. If he really is under Malefor's influence, then the Crystal should affect him. I mean it did to Lance." He said proudly. "Cynder you're a genius." He chimed. "I have my moments." I said. There was a sharp knock at the door. "Sir. Viika has requested your presence." Lance said at the entrance arch. "Yes I'll be with you in a minute." He said across the room to Lance. He then looked back at me. "This could be our chance to test our hypothesis." I said to him.

*in the library*

"You're certain. If this is true, then there is no going back." Viika said shakily. "Yes. I'm sure. I saw him first hand." I said seriously. I could have said something funny, but now was not the time. "What if we are right? What's going to happen to him?" I said worriedly. Viika and Othreal glanced at each other, then at me. "You know what. Don't tell me, I don't want to know. But what I do know is he deserves the truth. If we do this, it's on his own terms. He needs to know." I said as seriously and threatingly as I could. "Know what?" Spyro said as he leaped into the open seat next to me. "Nothing. It's not important." Othreal said as he tried to walk away. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Othreal!... we agreed." I scalded. "You're right." He said sheepishly whilst sitting down. "Viika. Leave us. And ask Lance to get the crystal." "Yeah. Sure." She said before shuffling away. "I'm staying before you say anything." I said at Othreal. I looked at Spyro. He looked confused. "Has someone died or something? Why are you all so serious?" He asked in confusion. "Its time you learnt the truth." Othreal said in a tough voice. "What do you mean?" Spyro asked curiously. "You were told about your parents demise, were you not?" Othreal said "Yes I was. Malefor murdered them." Spyro replied with hatred in his voice. "That... wasn't true." Othreal said with shame. Spyro's face dropped." What are you saying. Malefor... didn't murder them?" He said with a quiver in his voice. "No. He didn't. You see. They were Malefors closest friends. Your father... was Malefors brother." Othreal said with deep shame. Spyro froze for a second. His expression was blank. "No. No that's not true. You... you..." Spyro looked Othreal dead in the eye. "YOU LIAR!" he screamed at him. Wow. I didn't even know that. Spyro, was related to him? I didn't say anything. I thought best to just keep quiet. "I wish I was lying. But the truth is the truth." He said sheepishly. He was ashamed of himself. I could hear it in his voice. Spyro sat there panting. I could hear his breathing trembling. He shot up to his feet standing tall. He stared Othreal down. "What else?" He paused for a moment. "WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING!" He yelled at him. He sped towards him like a blur. One second he was here. The next, he was next to Othreal. He had his blade drawn and pressed against the Gaurdians throat. "What... else." He said again. "Your parents. No... your entire bloodline, has been loyal to Malefor for thousands of years... I'm so sorry Spyro." Othreal said with a slight tear. Spyro's breathing had started to accelerate. He put his blade back in its sheath. His head lifted up and once again made contact with Othreals eyes. He let out a yell of anger as he grabbed Othreal by the neck and slammed him into the wall. I rushed over to them. "SPYRO STOP!" I yelled at him. He was shaking with anger. Othreal was choking to death. "Stop. Please, it's not worth it." I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder to calm him. "NO! YOU LIED TO ME!" He yelled at Othreal. "Let. Him. Go." I said sternly. He looked at me. His eyes were still red. But gleamed with remorse. He released his grip and Othreal fell to his knees panting heavily.

"Cynder... I." He said quietly. He looked over to Othreal. "You. Lied to me. Why?" Othreal took a second to catch his breath. "To protect you. Malefor is your biological uncle. Your entire bloodline has been pledged to him. I am so sorry to tell you this." Othreal said sadly. "You mean. I'm, evil? That i-" he was cut off by Othreal. "No. Of course not. You are the most kind hearted individual I have ever met. Even ask Cynder. Every time I talk to her, she goes on about how amazing you are, how kind and how sweet you are. Would a follower of Malefor be spoken about like that?" Othreal said sympathetically. Spyro looked at me. "You saw last night, didn't you?" He asked. "Yes. I did. But I don't think any less of you. I still love you for who you are, not your past." I said to him. I could see tears in his eyes. "You really think... You think..." He took a step back. He looked disoriented. "Here's the bastard Crystal you asked for." Lance said at the door of the library. "AAAHH." Spyro screamed as he fell to the floor. He writhed in pain. "GET. THAT. AWAY." He hissed through his teeth. I shot down to his side. "Spyro fight it! Don't listen to it." I urged. "AAAHHH. IT HURTS. *NGH* JUST MAKE IT STOP!" he yelled in pain. "LANCE! DROP THE FUCKING CRYSTAL!" I yelled at him. It was too late. It had started. Lance ran out of the room with the Crystal. "Spyro focus. Shut him out. Don't let him take you." Othreal urged at his side. "This is bad, what the fuck do we do?" I said worriedly. Spyro still laid there writhing in pain. He had started to turn darker. ""AAAAAHHHHH. FUCKING MAKE IT END! IT HURTS!" He yelled out. "Othreal! His scales." I exclaimed. His scales were now almost black. "YESSSS. FINALLY." Spyro hissed with an evil snarl. "NO! I WONT LET YOU!" He yelled in his normal voice. " Othreal. Get someone. Anyone!" I said to him in a worried tone. "Yes. Right away." He darted off to get some help. Spyro slowly got up to his feet. He uses the wall as support to stay upright. "Cynder... *ngh* Run!" He yelled through his teeth. "No. I'm with you." I assured him. He snapped around and tackled me to the floor. His eyes were now purple. "He. Said. RUN!" he yelled at me. I didn't want to do this. But I had to. I hit him full force in the face. He rolled to the left and I shot up to my feet. He hissed in annoyance. "Damn it feels good to be back again." He sneered. He had turned now. "Spyro?" I said cautiously. "Heh. You wish. I must say, this body has really improved over the years." He said whilst inspecting his body. "No. No no no no. This isn't happening." I said shakily. "Oh but it is." Spyro replied evilly.

"CYNDER RUN!" Othreal yelled at me. He had brought Jade, Viika and Yurial with him. "Oh god no. SPYRO!" Jade screamed. She ran full speed over to him. "Don't!" I warned. But it was too late. She stopped suddenly. "Oh fuck." She exclaimed. "Oh good. You brought friends." Spyro sneered. I saw Yurial place a dart tube to his muzzle and blow a dart out of the tube. It flew with a high pitched whistle and hit Spyro in the neck. He hissed in pain before pulling it out. He looked at it in disgust. He took a step forward. "You. Really... messed... up." He said with a slur before hitting the floor with a crunch. There was no going back now. Spyro was now connected to Malefor. His scales were now slowly turning back to their original state. "What. Was that?" Jade asked in a scared tone. "You don't want to know. Trust me." I told her. I heard Othreal whispering something to Viika. Viika nodded in agreement to what ever she was told. "Yes. Right away." She said to him. I saw Yurial scoop up Spyro's unconscious body and leave the library. "What's going to happen to him?" I asked worriedly. "I don't know. Only time will tell." Viika said.

CHAPTER 20 bonus perspective. (Malefor's perspective)

"Master. Forgive us." Brazer knelt before me. "Proceed Brazer." I said to the trembling dragon. "We failed to apprehend the target. He got away." He trembled. "You... failed. Spyro is weak, and he beat you." I said somehow calmly. "Master, he wasn't weak. Something has happened to him. He's, not himself." Nadder chimed in. " No. He is himself. He hasn't been himself for the last few years." I said. "Forgive me... but that makes no sense." Brazer said while slowly standing up. "Did you notice anything, peculiar about him?" I asked. Brazer tilted his head slightly. "He was... He looked like you actually." He said in a surprised tone. "Yeah. Like a copy of you." Nadder chimed in again. "SILENCE!" I yelled at the girl. "I see. It seems that his past is coming up to to terms with him." I hissed. Brazer bowed his head. "Master, what shall we do?" He asked. " Nothing for now. I sense that the time to strike is soon. Although... there is something you could do." I told the pair. "I want you to spy on the two of them. Find any weaknesses and report back to me." I ordered. "It shall be done." Brazer said in agreement.

CHAPTER 21 Cynder's perspective

"What's going to happen to him?" I asked with a worried tone. "I don't know. But you must know, Othreal won't hesitate to... to..." Viika couldn't finish her sentence. She folder her arms and buried her head on the table. "What are we going to do?" She said with a slight cry. "Right now, we can't do anything. We can only hope that he is able to stay stable." I said flatly. *knock knock* "Cynder? May I have a word with you?" Jade asked with sympathy. I looked over at Viika. "Go with Jade." She said muffled. "Thank you." I said politely before making my way towards where Jade was standing. "I'm so sorry." She said sympathetically. "For what? You did nothing wrong." I told her. We were walking slowly as we spoke. "I know. But I heard about what Othreal said. I had no idea." She said. "Neither did I. I knew how his parents died, and I knew about his family backstory. But I never knew about Malefor. He is Spyro's ACTUAL uncle." I said with a slight shock. "Im scared for him. Othreal won't hesitate. If it comes to it, he will kill him." I said shakily. "No. He won't. I'll make sure of it." Jade reassured. I glanced quickly through the recreational room archway. "Hold up." I said stopping dead in my tracks. "Don't come near me. please." Spyro said sadly. He was sitting down at a table. He was clutching a bottle of gin in his hand. I slowly approached him. I shouldn't trust him, but I can't bear to see him like this. "Don't." Jade whispered to me. I didn't listen. I continued closer to him. I sat down at the open spot next to him. "Cynder, Please. Stay away from me." He said shakily. I hugged him. "No. I promised to stay with you. No matter what." I said with empathy. I looked over at Jade. "I'll leave you 2." She hurried before continuing away.

"No. Not this time. I'm too dangerous to be around." Spyro said shakily. I could tell he was scared. "I don't care how dangerous you are. I love you no matter what." I assured him. "I care! I'm scared of hurting you. I can't lose you!" He exclaimed. He stood up and pressed his head against the wall, still holding the gin bottle. He took a mouthful and grunted slightly. Gin was not easy. I stood at his side trying to comfort him. "I know." I said to him. I didn't know what to do. He took another mouthful. I wrenched the bottle out of his hand. "This. Is not the answer." I exclaimed. "This will kill you!" I exclaimed again. He looked at me with shame. "You're right." He said in agreement. I put the bottle down on the table and hugged him again. "I know you want to protect me, but shutting me away will only make it worse... I'm always going to be here for you. Most importantly, I'll always love you." I assured sympathetically. "I love you too Cynder. More than you could ever know." He said shakily still. We stopped hugging and looked at each other. I could see him visibly shaking with fear. "Its going to be allright. We'll get through this." I said, taking his hand in mine. "Will we? We've already seen my true self. At the core, I'm an evil, twisted, Dark creature. Born into evil and soon to be corrupted. Every. Fucking. Day. I can hear him, mocking and boasting. That, FUCKING CRYSTAL! It's driving me insane, constantly calling to me. Telling me to kill... kill... KILL! I can't mentally cope with it." He said losing his sanity. I could see a tear falling down his face. "And for some reason, alcohol stops it. It stops all of the voices." He said reaching for the bottle. I grabbed his hand. "That won't solve anything." I assured. He looked at me with sorrow. I could see a glint of purple in his eye. But the crimson overwhelmed any trace of it. "One day, there will be no stopping me. You got lucky last time. Next time, it may be too late." He said with fear. "Then I'll stay with you. No matter what." I said to him. "Don't be stupid Cynder! You will be killed!" He exclaimed. He took a step back.

He exclaimed slightly and put his hand over the bandage from when I stabbed him. "Are you allright!" I exclaimed lunging towards him. "Yes. I'm fine." He said flatly. "Are you sure?" I asked him. He didn't say anything, he just stared at me. I could see the love in his eyes. He also looked exhausted. "How long has it been since you slept Spyro?" I asked seriously. He didn't answer. "What's bothering you?" I asked again seriously. He say down in the same spot as where be was earlier. "Since Brazer and Nadder. 5 days ago. Everytime I close my eyes , it's the same nightmare. Every time." He said with fear in his voice. "Everytime, it's you and me. Only I'm evil, and you're begging for me to come back. And everytime. I kill you in cold blood. A blade through the heart." He said, his voice quivering. "I cannot sleep." He said with a gasp. He had started to breathe heavier now. "I'm scared Cynder. What if this is what happens. What it I really do kill you!" He cried softly. I took his hand again. "Then that's fate. I'm not afraid to die. I love you, and that's all that is important to me. Your love. And I would give anything to keep that, even if it means dying." I said as I hugged him again. "Well then fate. Fate is fucking twisted! Fate can fuck off! I refuse to lose you. I won't!" He exclaimed. We sat there hugging each other for a while, saying nothing. I enjoyed it. I heard his heart beating through his chest. The rhythm was relaxing. "Your heart is strong." I whispered. He didn't say anything. "Did you know that a strong heart is representative of a dragons will?" I said with interest. "No. But that is interesting." He replied quietly. He yawned loudly. " You need to sleep Spyro. It's unhealthy to say awake. Especially for 5 days straight." I told him seriously. "I can't. The nightmare is too much for me too handle." He said sadly. "What if I was with you? Would that help?" I said looking up to match his eyesight. "I don't know." He said. "I mean hopefully. If I know your safe with me, then my nightmare hopefully will go away." He said with sad enthusiasm. "What time even is it?" He asked me. I glanced directly over the table to the clock that was on the wall. It was dark, but bright enough to see across the room. "10." I said hastily. He took his arm from my waist and stood up, his back cracked as he did so. "We'll try your idea." He said. "Sure." I replied to him. We slowly walked off, next to each other, hand in hand.

CHAPTER 22 Spyro's perspective.

"you sure you'll be all right?" Cynder asked me. "hopefully I will. you're here now. that already makes me feel better." I responded in a calm tone. " make yourself at home, I just need a drink quickly." I told her. "sure." she replied in a chirpy tone. I went into my little kitchen area and pulled a glass off of the side. I stood there for a second, slowly starting to become fear struck. The vision of me murdering Cynder flooded my mind. I started breathing rapidly and heavily. "What's wrong? Worried about your little girlfriend?" The voice in my head said with sarcasm before cackling evilly. " Shut up!" I snapped quietly as to not let Cynder hear me. " Ahhh. you ARE, worried... Perfect." It snarled. I tried to lock it out, tried to ignore it. I glanced to my left and saw a half empty bottle of gin. I knew I told Cynder that I would stop, but its the only thing that works. I checked behind me to make sure Cynder couldn't see me. she was lying on the bed with her front towards the wall. I looked back in front of me. I took the bottle and drank the entire thing in 5 gulps. My throat burned, but I was already used to it. I put the now empty bottle back on the counter, waiting for a few seconds to see if the voice would reappear. it didn't. I sighed with relief. I slowly walked back to my bed area. "Is everything all right?" Cynder asked in a calm and quiet voice. "Yeah, i'm fine. you just worry about you." I said in the same calm voice. She twisted head head to look at me. "You don't sound all right." she said empathetically. I thought of what to say. if I said the truth, then that would worry her. I couldn't do that to her, she has already helped me with so much. "I cant help but think about if those assassins are watching us again. especially now that they have seen my dark sided being." I said with a sigh. Cynder was now sitting. She looked as if she was lost for words. "i'm probably just being paranoid." I said shamefully. " no. you do raise a good point, I do think that they will be back soon. and when they do, we will be prepared." she said. I didn't say anything back, I just thought to myself. I had a weird feeling, it's like... as if i'm living a double life. " I don't know why, but there is something very oddly familiar about those two. I feel as if I know them somehow, I mean before the other night." I said with slight worry. I sat down beside Cynder. I was extremely exhausted and tired. I needed sleep badly. "Some things will always appear different to other dragons. For example, you may think that those two are familiar. But to Jade, she may have no clue as to who they are. That's how the brain works. It's designed to play tricks on you." Cynder said quietly. Neither of us said anything again. We stayed silent for a few seconds. "Do you mind if I head to my dorm real quick? I forgot something." she asked me. "Please yourself, just close the door behind you." I told her. She stood up, her tail blade cut through the air with a satisfying sound and clipped the side of my muzzle slightly. " Woah! careful with that thing. you almost took my head off." I exclaimed with my hand over where I had been cut. "sorry!" she quickly exclaimed. She glanced over at me and saw me holding the side of my muzzle. "Did I catch you with it?" She asked remorsefully. "It's just a little scratch. Like a papercut if you will." She left the room and I could hear the door closing. "she's a vicious one, isn't she?" The voice said. I ignored it. "You really thought that your solution was really working? You idiot." It snarled at me. "What do you want from me?" I asked it quietly. I had to speak quietly as to not let anyone hear me, otherwise people would think i'm crazy. "Unfortunately for you, you will not find out until the time calls for it." It hissed. "Is that so? Because you are little more than a virus. If the host dies, the virus dies." I said quietly. The voice laughed. "You really think so...? You really are more of a fool than I took you for." It hissed. "I am you. So that means you are also an idiot." I hissed back at it. "No. Now that, is where you are wrong. I am what you are meant to be. I... am the original you that was brought into this world. You are just a mere construct of our mother's weakness. And within due time, you will be eradicated. So threaten me with death all you want, because it wont work. I will simply just claim my body back." The voice assured me evilly. I laid back, thinking about what I had just been told. It was this time that I had also heard my door opening and Cynder entering the room. "Hey... is everything all right?" she asked in a worried tone. I looked up at her and responded. "Yes. I am fine." She sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I really worry about you." she said sadly. "There is nothing to worry about." I assured her. "Yeah there is. There are a lot of things that I worry about. I worry about losing you, about hurting you... again. I worry about why Malefor is hunting you down." she told me. I could hear the sadness in her voice. I couldn't help but to feel bad for her. I looked up and Cynder did the same. We were both looking into each other. "I promise you. You do not need to worry. Everything Is going to be all right. We are going to get through this." I assured her.

I felt a lot more collected with Cynder here. I felt like I had nothing to fear, nothing to lose anymore. But I did, I had a lot that I could lose. Or should I say... that Malefor was able to take from me. I couldn't bear to think about what I would do if I failed to keep them safe. I already failed against Malefor once, and failure was NOT, an option. Failure, means weakness. Weakness, means loss. And loss, means losing those that I care about. Those that I love... Cynder could sense my worry. she went to speak, but chose not to as she thought best as to not say anything on the subject. I heard a slight noise outside and my wings immediately pricked up. "Relax. it's windy outside, that's all." Cynder assured me. My wings un-pricked and I calmed myself quickly. Cynder yawned loudly, as if she was trying to say something with her actions. Of course she was, she has a way of 'suggesting' things with her actions. "Yes. I'm tired too, you don't have to make it so obvious Cynder." I said sarcastically. She laughed slightly. "wow, you catch on quick don't you?" she said sarcastically, still with a small chuckle. I too let out a yawn. " I guess yawns really are contagious." I remarked. I was feeling extremely tired. "You can head off to sleep if you would like, I, need to check something out." I told her. "Okay, but don't wake me, or ill kill you." she said in a false serious voice whilst holding up her tail blade up to m throat. "I won't. Trust me, i'm as stealthy as a ninja assassin." I said sarcastically as she removed her tail blade. "Don't take long." she said sternly. I silently walked over to the window and peeked my head out slightly. I had s funny feeling about something. I don't think i'm being watched, but I certainly feel something odd. I looked out for a couple seconds and scanned the outside area. Nothing was in the tree's. No one was hiding at all. Maybe Cynder was right, I was being paranoid. "No one Is going to be out there. It's freezing outside." Cynder said softly. "I know, I just need to make sure." I assured her. I silently walked over and silently clicked open my door and silently closed it behind me. I needed to check. "Destroying that crystal won't get rid of me." The voice hissed. "I never said I was going to do that." I said with annoyance. "No, but you were thinking it. I know everything you do, and even some things you don't. I know what your fate is, you are destined for evil. Destined to serve under our old master once again. He may even spare all these... pathetic creatures that you are so attached to." The voice snarled. I was starting to hear whispers now as I came closer to where the crystal was situated. I changed my mind, I wasn't going to destroy today. I turned around and headed back to my dorm. I was walking a lot slower than before. I felt like someone was here. "BOO!" A voice spooked from behind. I snapped around and... "Oh, it's just you Lance." I said in shock. "Yup. And you really shouldn't be sneaking around at 11 at night. You might scare someone." Lance said in an enthusiastic voice. I just glared at him. "I'm going to scare someone!?" I exclaimed. "What are you even doing anyway?" I asked curiously. "Me? I just went to grab a snack." Lance said. "The question is... what are you doing up kid?" He asked suspiciously. I looked blankly at him for a second. "I needed to check something. I'm all done now so I'll be going on my way now." I said to Lance. Lance looked at me with a questioning expression. "Well I won't keep you. Off you go then." He said to me before turning off to walk away. "I honestly fail to understand him." The voice in my head said. "He's not that bad." I said to the voice. For once, it said something that wasn't either an insult or just plain evil.

I silently and carefully opened my door with as little sound as physically possible as to not disturb anyone. Cynder was now asleep so I had to be extremely quiet with my actions. Thankfully, I was light and quiet with my actions and movement. I certainly felt a lot calmer and more relaxed knowing that Cynder was safe here. I slowly and carefully laid down next to her, somehow without waking her. I felt like that I could actually sleep for once. I let out a sigh of relaxation and tried to sleep. it didn't take long, it was actually pretty easy.

CHAPTER 23 Spyro's Perspective

"Cynder. He is far too strong for either of us to go up against. You need to run while you still can." I said to Cynder sternly. I was looking her dead in the eye, the green in her eyes reflected in the semi darkness that had now filled the room. "I can't. If you stay here alone, you will be killed." she said placing her hand on my face. "And if you stay here, you'll die." I replied to her. "ENOUGH!" A voice shouted a few feet away. My head slowly turned over in the direction of the voice. "I'm not finished with you yet. I was only just getting started." Malefor snarled while twirling a blade covered in blood... my blood. I had my hand over the right side of my stomach, about where my kidney is. It was bleeding quite heavily and I struggled to stay upright because of it. Malefor was pacing left and right, still his gaze was locked onto us. I slowly got up off of the floor onto my feet with a struggle. "I'm glad you and I are on the same page then." I hissed at the dark creature. "no... what the hell do you think you are doing!? You are in no condition to fight." Cynder exclaimed worriedly. "Which is why you need to run. Now. For my sake." I said to her in a calm voice. "I refuse. I made a promise to never leave you." she said with a slight quiver in her voice.

Thing's kind of skipped a little bit. I don't remember much after this moment. I was struck in the stomach with his fist. I screamed in pain as I held my hand over my wound. The pain was unbearable, it filled my entire waist area. "You are weak nephew. You sicken me." Malefor snarled as he spat on the floor. I looked up at him with pure hatred in my eyes. I could taste blood. I tried to stand up, but couldn't. The pain was too much. "It's such a shame we were unable to spend more family time together. You and I could've gotten along great... And then you went and fucked it all up!" Malefor hissed. "I would never, EVER..." I didn't finish my sentence before being punched so hard, I literally was forced 10 feet behind me. I lay there, struggling to intake oxygen. I didn't bother trying to move. I knew what was coming next. I looked to my left and saw Cynder looking back and forth, she had no idea what to do. "RUN!" I shouted over to her. She shook her head in disagreement. "I can't. I know what's going to happen to you." she said tearfully. I heard Malefor walking closer towards me. "He's right you know. You should run while you still can." Malefor said evilly. I looked at him dead on. "Do it. Finish me off." I said in defeat to the dark lord. He formed a cruel smile and raised his blade into the air. "NO!" Cynder screamed as the blade lodged into my heart.

I woke up again. I sat up quickly and let out a yell. I immediately checked both my waist and my chest. Thankfully there were no new wounds. I felt Cynder sit up as well and place her hand on my shoulder. I couldn't breathe properly. I was choking on nothing, and Cynder could see this. "Hey. Calm yourself, deep breaths." she said calmingly. I tried to do as she said, but couldn't exhale anything. "Relax your self, try to clear your mind." Cynder told me. I tried to relax. My breathing slowly started to regulate again. "There you go, calm your self." Cynder said calmly. My breathing slowly came to a normal pace. I looked at the clock on the side. It read 9 AM. "What happened Spyro? Did you have another nightmare?" she asked me in a sincere tone. I took a second to clear my mind properly. "No. This time, it was different." I told her. "Different? Different how, if you don't mind me asking." she asked me. "I... this time, I hadn't turned. I was my normal state, And you were there as well. But I was hurt badly. Wounded by someone's blade. We were fighting Malefor, he was too strong for the both of us. I tried to get you to run and you didn't. You decided to stay... I don't remember the full thing. But it ends with me being killed." I said shakily to her. She took a second to process this. I was still breathing slightly raggedly. "Cynder. These nightmares... I'm scared. More than before now." I said to her. "There is nothing to be afraid of. They are just in your head, And I don't mean that in a bad way." she assured in a calm voice. I looked her dead on. "Is it though? Is it just in my head?" I asked worriedly. She looked at me in confusion. "Why would you say that?" She asked curiously. "Is there something you aren't telling me?" she asked me. "No. I've told you everything." I told her. I looked away slightly as I said that, which made it even more obvious that I was lying. "You're lying." She said calmly. "Spyro, I thought we were past this. I thought we were past all of this. No one can help you if you don't tell the truth." She said with sympathy. I let out a sigh. "No one can help me anyway, I'm too far past it. And no one will believe me anyway." I said quietly. "I will." Cynder said quietly.

"Has Malefor got something to do with this? Is that why you haven't explained it fully." Cynder asked me. She was somehow managing to stay calm through out this. "I haven't said anything because I will probably be killed. It's... complicated." I said sheepishly. I was questioning if I should tell her the truth. If I do, and she decides to tell Othreal, or Viika... they would probably assume the worst and have me killed. "I'm sure whatever it is, that they will-" Cynder tried to say before I cut her off. "Malefor is in my head." Cynder stared at me in shock. "Well he himself isn't in my head. It's the evil version of me that seems to be talking. Malefor must've triggered it when we first encountered." I said. "Uh... well I. Am struggling to wrap my brain around that one." She said in surprise. I laid back down and tried to control my breathing, which was now picking up in pace again. "That means the Malefor could know everything you do or say. This could be bad." Cynder said now realising the gravity of what I had just said. "And now you see why I've been keeping this to myself. Because it implies that i'm with him. If he really is in my head, then no wonder that i'm slowly losing it. Why i'm slowly turning." I tried to stay calm. "I need you to do something for me. 2 things actually." I asked Cynder with a serious tone whilst standing tall. "Of course. what do you need?" She asked in agreement. "First thing. Can you please keep this between us? I really can not cope with that just yet." I said to her. I didn't even notice, but she was now hugging me as tightly as she could. "I will do whatever I can to help you." She said with sadness in her voice. "What's the second thing?" she asked me, raising her head to match my gaze. "Before I say. Promise me that whatever I am about to ask of you, promise me you will not hesitate." I asked seriously. "I promise you." she responded sincerely. "If I turn again, if it seems like there is no bringing me back. I want..." I struggled to finish. I took a deep breath. "I want you to kill me before I get the chance to hurt anyone." I said to her calmly. Cynder looked up at me in shock, with a look of fear. "You can't ask that of me." She said with a worried tone. "Please... Promise me." I asked her. "If you need to choose between killing me and letting everyone die, take me out when you have the chance." I said to her. I felt bad about having to ask this of her, but I knew I needed to do this. "No. I refuse. I can't." She said tearfully. She sank her head into my chest and hugged me tighter. "I won't lose you." She cried. "You already promised me Cynder." I said sadly. "I know I did. I know." Cynder sighed. "I promise then." She said sadly. "I promise."

CHAPTER 24 Spyro's perspective

"Do you want anything?" I asked Cynder from the other room. "No, I'm fine. I should probably go actually." Cynder said as she slowly walked into the room that I was. I was putting a few things into a ruck sack. "Going somewhere?" She asked curiously. I looked up at her. "Yeah. I need to head into the city for a couple of days. I told some people that I would meet them again." I told her. "Oh. okay." She said in a slight sad tone. She walked slightly closer to me. "Are you all right? Because part of me thinks that you're making this meeting friends thing up. You don't just have a literal shock inducing nightmare, and then do a runner unless something bad either has happened or is going to happen." She said suspiciously. I looked at her funny. "I'm not making this up. I actually have to meet people." I said sternly to her. "I never said you didn't, i'm just pointing out the obvious." She replied. I looked back up at her. She looked slightly sad. I continued with what I was doing. All I needed now was a decent book to read on the way. "Cynder? Do you mind passing me a book from my shelf." I asked her. She looked behind her and analysed the quaint selection of reading material. She picked a book off of the shelf. "You kept this?" She asked in surprise. She was holding a book that she had given me 4 years ago. *A Hunter's Dream* "Of course, it's one of my favourites." I explained to her. She handed the book to me. I placed it into my bag and closed it. "I take it that you're all ready to go then?" She asked me. I looked at her for a couple of seconds. "You could come with me if you want. I'm sure they won't mind you." I said positively. She seemed to look a lot happier "Really?" she said ecstatically. "Sure. If there are any problems, then I'll sort it out for you." I said assuring her. She stood still for a second. "Was there by any chance 2 twins, Both black and green, One of then with a noticeable scar on his face?" She asked me. I glared at her for a moment. "yes... how did you." I asked suspiciously. "I knew one of them. His name was Scar, he has a twin brother if I recall. Ebon I think his name was?" she responded. "You know them." she said happily. "Yes. I'm meeting those 2 along with someone else." I said to her. Cynder was visibly excited. "So. Do you need to pack anything? It's meant to be quite cold outside." I said helpfully to her. "Yes actually, I will be back in no more than 5 minutes." She said before skipping off cheerfully off to her dorm. I opened the bag back up and scooped up the book that I had previously put in there. I had received it as a gift from her some years back. It reminds me of her sometimes. Sometimes I even imagine the main protagonist as her . My mind was suddenly flooded with all the happy memories I had of her. There was one in particular that made me feel emotional, the first time we had went out to archery practice. I remember that there was obvious flirting between us that day, and the memory of me trying to pull a bowstring back but having in snap back and hit me in the face brought a small chuckle to me. And then a not so pleasant memory struck... the last time I turned. I remember nothing but relentless rage and an agonising thirst for blood. Cynder was so scared that day, I remember the look in her eyes. I shut my eyes and tried to lock out the past before I let my emotions get the best of me.

I sat down next to the packed bag and let out a deep sigh. Yes, I was excited to see Ebon and Scar and Lilith again, and I had high hopes about bringing Cynder along, but I was afraid about what would happen if I had lost control. Especially in the city where hundreds of dragons would be vulnerable. "Don't worry, i'm not that evil." The voice said to me. "Oh please. You would kill every single one of them given the chance." I told it in annoyance. "I know I would, just not right now." it said. I took a second to process that. "What is that meant to mean?" I asked it. "like you said, If the host dies the virus dies. And the process of me taking your corpse takes too long. So for now I will bide my time." The voice snarled. I scoffed and laid back. I heard someone enter the room. "You ready to go then?" Cynder asked enthusiastically. I sat back up. "Yeah sure." I responded. I saw her expression drop to something more serious. "Did something happen? Are you ok?" She asked seriously. "Yeah i'm good." I said whilst slinging my bag onto my back. "So what are you bringing upon this adventure then?" I said trying to be comical. She looked at me, as if she was trying so tell me to shut up. "well... I'm glad you asked." She said as she reached her hand into her own bag. "Mainly just a hoodie to make sure I don't freeze to death." She said pulling out her black hoodie. "I also brought some of my own reading material." she said putting her hoodie back into her bag. She noticed that I was troubled by something, I didn't look particularly joyful anyway so I guess it was my own fault. "You're thinking about your nightmare, aren't you?" She said flatly. "I can't help it." I told her. She quietly made her way over to me and sat down by my side. "You have nothing to worry about." She said reassuringly. "I know." I said to her. "Then why are you worried?" she asked me with sympathy. "I'm not." I said to her.

"Come on. We need to get going if were going to get into the city before dark." Cynder said to me. I looked away for literally 3 seconds and she was already practically out of the door. I got up and quickly followed. "Someone's eager to get out." I remarked. She glanced over to me. "I just want to get out for a little while. that's all." She said enthusiastically. "That is what we all want. Especially me." The voice hissed at me. I had to force myself from yelling at it. I saw Cynder glance at me for a second. "The voice that you've been hearing. It's talking to you, isn't it?" She asked me. "How did you know about that?" I asked curiously. "You said this morning that Malefor or someone like that was talking to you in your head." She said. I blanked out for a second. "Oh yeah, I did didn't I" I said sheepishly. "what did it say?" She asked me. I thought for a second. "It want's it's own body again. As well as murder every living dragon in sight." I said to her. Her expression turned from happy to fearful. "It's own body AGAIN?" She exclaimed. "Dude! What the fuck are you containing?" She said in fear. "Apparently... me." I said. Cynder had now went from fearful to confused. "How...wha..?" She tried to say. We were still walking, but at a much slower pace. "Apparently, I was brought into this world as a follower of Malefor, as evil. But somehow, I became good and managed to escape. In case you didn't hear, my entire family bloodline has been followers of evil. It's also an added bonus that he just so happens to be my uncle." I explained. "So the voice you're hearing, is you?" she said in a confused manner. "Exactly." I said to her. "Yeah. Sure. Makes complete sense." She said sarcastically. I turned to face her head on. "If you have a problem, you are more than welcome to leave. But right now, I cannot be bothered with any ridiculing or anything of the sort right now." I said angrily at her. I had no idea why, I just did. "I wasn't. I just..." She said in sadness. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that." I said remorsefully to her. "It's fine. I understand your situation anyway." She said in agreement. I heard claws behind me and the both of us turned to see who was approaching. "Hey lovebirds!" Yurial said down the corridor to the both of us. "There are people here. They've been asking for you." He said slightly out of breath. Cynder and I both looked at each other, and then back at Yurial. "Ok then." I said hesitantly before slowly walking towards him. I heard Cynder whisper something to Yurial. I couldn't hear what she had said, but I knew that I wasn't meant to hear it... Oh well, What's the worst that could happen.

*5 minutes later, the main gates.*

"Lilith?" I said over to a yellow figure standing over by the gates. I had a sneaking suspicion. The figure turned to face me. "Oh hi!" She said with enthusiasm. Scar was there too. "Scar?" Cynder said with glee. She went up to him and proceeded to hug him. "It's been years!" She exclaimed. "It has hasn't it?" Scar said to her. I could see that Cynder was excited to see him again. "Why are you here? I thought I was going to be meeting you in the city." I asked Lilith. "Well, we were talking about it, and we thought it would be easier for you if we were to come up here. Also Scar really wanted to see Cynder again." Lilith explained. "Well I'm glad you did." Cynder said. I noticed that Ebon wasn't here. "Where's Ebon? Is he not joining us?" I asked Scar seriously. Scar detached himself from Cynder and Walked over to me. "He's sick at the moment, so Mum is looking after him until he's better. But he should hopefully make his way up here in a couple of days." Scar informed me. "I hope he's all right." I said to the twin. "He should be. He's never sick very often so I believe that he'll pull through quickly." He said. "So. I take it you 2 made up then?" Lilith asked. "What? Oh yeah. We managed to sort things out." I said to Lilith. "Things are actually better off now than they were before." I said with glee. "Yeah, but let's not forget what I did to you." Cynder said shamefully. I looked at her in confusion, then remembered the bandage wrapped around my chest. "Yeah... It's not that bad in reality." I said to the now worrying Cynder. "I'm confused. You wanna fill me in?" Lilith said in confusion. I pulled down the zip on my blue hoodie and pulled it off of myself. "Wow! What happened?" Lilith asked me in shock. Cynder looked down in shame. I didn't know if I should say, for Cynder's sake. "I almost killed him." Cynder said suddenly. Both Scar and Lilith shot around to look at her. No one said anything. "It wasn't her fault though. It was more my fault if anything." I said to try and re assure her. "Hold up. Go back a few seconds. She tried to kill you." Scar said. "She didn't try to." I said to him. "Can we not talk about this right now?" Cynder asked in a shaky voice. "It's a sensitive topic for me." She said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it." Scar said with remorse. "It's fine. We should probably head in now anyway. Its freezing out here." She said. "Yeah, I could do with a bit of warmth." Lilith said as I zipped up my hoodie. "Well let's go then." I said to the 3 of them before turning to walk inside. Cynder popped up to my side and took my hand. I looked over to my left. "Don't worry about it." I said to her. "I'm not." She said in a pseudo happy tone. I could hear Scar and Lilith whispering to each other, and then Lilith sped up to the 2 of us. "So is anyone gonna be bothered by us 2 being here?" Lilith asked me. "I wouldn't imagine so." I said to her in response. "Although fair warning. Jade can be a bit of a hassle for a short while." I warned. "Ha ha. ok." Lilith chuckled slightly.

CHAPTER 25 Cynder's perspective.

It was the 5 of us all somehow huddled up into 1 dorm. And yet there was enough space for everyone to move about freely. Jade was sitting excitedly. "So you met Spyro a few weeks ago?" I asked Lilith. Jade, Lilith and I were sitting in the living area, and Scar and Spyro were in the other room talking amongst themselves. "Yeah, believe it or not, I first met him at a help group." Lilith chuckled slightly. I glared at her for a second. "A help group? That doesn't really sound like him at all." I said in surprise. "Yeah, I mean I guess it was worth it for him. He came for help about fixing his mistakes actually." She said to me. Jade was still sitting there... listening. "Mistakes?" I asked in surprise. "Yeah, He mentioned hurting someone. Not physically, but he felt really bad and guilty for it." Lilith explained. I thought to myself for a second. That must have been where he went when he disappeared. "Huh. I never knew that. He just told me that he went into the city for a few days." Jade suddenly chimed in. We both looked at her. "And now skip a little while forward to today and look at them." She said with a smile. She always seemed to look and act happy. I found it a bit odd, but I didn't ask any questions. And then I thought about whether or not Lilith knew about Spyro's 'Malefor situation'. "Has he ever mentioned anything, let's say, about Malefor?" I asked seriously to Lilith. "mmmm. No I don't think he did. Why?" She said. "No reason." I said to Lilith. "Oh. Is this because you just found out that Malefor is Spyro's-" Jade said before I snapped my arm forwards and put my hand over Jade's muzzle to stop her from talking. She tried to say something, but was unable to. Her gaze met mine and understood why I had stopped her. I removed my hand and saw Jade glance at Lilith. "Ahh. I see. My bad." She said. Lilith looked confused. "What does Malefor have to do with Spyro?" She asked in a confused tone. Jade and I looked at each other, then back at Lilith. "Nothing, I was just interested. That's all." I said to her.

"Does anybody want anything?" Spyro asked, entering the room that the 3 of us were in. "No, were all right for now." Jade said. "All right then, Just give me a call if you need anything." He said. He turned and went back into the other room, stumbling over literally nothing on his way in. "He seems different, more on edge." Lilith pointed out. "yeaahhh. He's like that now, no idea why though." Jade said. Lilith looked straight into Jade's soul. "Yeah you do. You just don't want me to know." She said. Jade looked straight at me. "It's fine, I understand. That's why secrets are called secrets." Lilith said happily. I sighed loudly. "If I tell you, can you promise not to say anything. Can you just keep this between me and you... And Jade?" I asked sheepishly. Lilith looked at me solemnly. "Of course." She said respectfully. Jade grabbed my shoulder and whispered quietly at me. "What the fuck are you doing?" She whispered at me. "Telling her the truth." I whispered back at her. "What if she freaks?" Jade whispered. "You do realise that I am literally right here you know." Lilith said in response to our pointless whispering. "Right, so you are." I said quietly. I got up and closed the door to the room that Spyro and Scar were in. The door was slightly ajar, so I closed it to make sure they wouldn't hear us. "What was the point in that?" Lilith asked in confusion. "So they wouldn't hear." I replied as I sat back down where I was previously sitting. "Let me guess. It's something bad Isn't it?" Lilith asked. She seemed to know what I was about to say before I even said it. "It's to do with Malefor, doesn't it?" She said. "Yes. It does." I said quietly. Lilith somehow looked calm. Even if she did know what I was about to say next. "I had a sneaking suspicion." She said quietly. "Well go ahead then. Tell me what you need to then." She asked slightly impatiently. "Well. I don't know if he mentioned this, but a few weeks ago, Malefor tried to kill him. He survived, but he hasn't been the same since. Also recently, he's been having crippling nightmares. Actually, this morning, it was so bad that he literally went into shock." I explained. Lilith was just still, listening to what I was saying. "He's also told me that he has been hearing a voice in is head. He says that the voice is actually his old self." I explained further. She now looked confused. "How the hell can he have his old self in his head?" She asked. "I'm getting to that." I said impatiently. I sighed. "Basically. His entire family bloodline has been loyal to evil. For thousands of years. And... well... Malefor was actually brothers with Spyro's father." I further explained. Lilith froze for a second. And then she looked full of fear. "WAIT! WHAT!" Lilith finally exclaimed. "Told you she'd freak." Jade remarked.

"So, He's actually part of Malefor's bloodline? Wow! I wasn't expecting that." Lilith said after taking a couple minutes to both calm down and to register what I had just said. "Neither was I the first time I heard of it." Jade chimed in. Lilith checked behind her to see if either anyone was there, or if the door was still shut. "Does that mean he's evil?" She asked. "No, Definitely not." I assured her. I decided to leave out the part where something is trying to take over his soul as it would probably make her freak out more. "But if his parents, and his parents' parents were evil, doesn't that make him by default?" Lilith asked. I gave her the death stare. "I'll take that as a no." She said sheepishly. She looked scared now. I kind of regretted telling her now. I heard the door open and saw Scar coming out of the room, Spyro closely followed. Lilith looked at me and I mouthed the words 'Don't say anything'. She nodded in agreement. "Where are you going?" Lilith asked him. "I need to get my bandage changed. It shouldn't take long. And please, make yourselves at home. There's plenty of food if you guys get hungry." Spyro said helpfully. "woah woah woah." Jade suddenly exclaimed. She had a massive grin on her face. She was going to try and embarrass me in some way. "Aren't you going to kiss your girlfriend goodbye?" She said sarcastically. Spyro glared at Jade. Scar sniggered slightly. "I can do it for you if you like." Scar joked sarcastically. Spyro gave him a sharp jab in the ribs, which winded Scar slightly. I hastily made my way to the towering purple creature. I always thought he was taller than he actually was. I felt intimidated by him and his sheer strength. I let my lust for him get the best of me. I didn't even let him make a move before reaching in and catching him off guard. A gentle yet elegant kiss is all it took to satisfy me. He was always so passionate and loving. At this point, I didn't even care that Jade and Lilith and Scar were watching. I don't see them with partners. About 5 seconds went by and we stopped. I just looked into him. "I should probably go." He said quietly. He quickly shuffled off and out the dorm. I slowly turned around and Jade was struggling to control her relentless giggling. Lilith looked surprised. Scar just stood there. I sat back down awkwardly. "That was... something." Jade said trying not to burst out laughing. "You asked for it." I said with a laugh. I noticed Scar standing around awkwardly. "You can sit down you know." Lilith said to him. Scar didn't react. He looked as if he was in a trance, just staring out of the window. "Scar? You ok?" Lilith asked him. "huh. Yeah. I'm fine, It's just i'm pretty sure that I saw 2 dragons outside." Scar said curiously. I Looked out where he was looking. "I don't see anyone." I said to him. "Yeah, i'm probably just going crazy." he said flatly. I thought about Brazer and Nadder for a second. No. They wouldn't, would they? "Maybe your not." I said as I made my way out of the door. "Wait, Where are you going?" I heard Jade shout after me as I left. I tried to follow after Spyro.

I ran full speed down the corridor, slowed, and took a sharp left. I had to stop my self from bursting in rudely and grabbed the corner so I could keep my cover. Once again, I was eavesdropping on Yurial and Spyro. "And what has it been saying?" I heard Yurial ask. "It keeps going on about what it wants to do. All it want's is to kill." Spyro said calmly... somehow. "And you're scared?" Yurial asked him. "I'm not scared of it, i'm scared of what it, or should I say I, am going to do to the others." he said shakily. "So this is why you won't tell any of the others." Yurial said. "Yes. If I tell them, they will kill me on suspicion of teaming up with Malefor. And I can't do that to Cynder. I can't let her lose me" Spyro explained. I leaned back against the wall and sighed. I thought I had sighed to loud, but clearly not as Spyro and Yurial were still talking. "What are you suggesting?" Yurial asked. "I need to leave. Permanently. And never come back." Spyro said seriously. I peeked my head around the corner and saw Yurial was taken back by this. "Don't be ridiculous Spyro!" Yurial exclaimed. "You don't understand. I am being hunted. Brazer and Nadder are outside right now as we speak. Everyday for the last week and a bit, I have woken up in crippling fear. I woke up in literal shock this morning. My condition is getting worse every day. You and I both know that I probably have 3 days, tops. Maybe even less. I could turn tonight for all I know." Spyro continued to explain. I felt someone kneel down next to me. "Hey. Why'd you freak out?" Lilith asked quietly. "Listen." I whispered quietly. "We can help you. You won't turn, And you definitely won't hurt anyone." Yurial said comfortingly. "Look. I know how much you care for me. You're like a father to me. But I can't risk staying here. I'll kill someone!" I heard Spyro say with a quiver. I looked at Lilith. She had a face of visible confusion. "Why would he think he would need to leave?" Lilith asked. "I'll explain later." I told her. I peeked my head back around the corner to see them clearly. Lilith did the same. "Well then I won't let you leave." Yurial said finally after a couple of seconds of silence. "I know. Why do you think I offered you that drink." Spyro said. Yurial looked confused before then realising what had happened. he had been spiked. Yurial stumbled a little bit before hitting the floor unconscious. "I truly am sorry about this." Spyro said to Yurial's unconscious body. Lilith and I immediately darted behind cover. I had hidden myself behind a pillar, and Lilith did the same behind a pillar opposite me. I Peeked my head slightly so I could see a little bit of what was going on. Spyro was slowly walking off towards somewhere. Lilith looked at me and nodded slightly. The both of us stealthily followed Spyro to see what he was up to. After all, You don't just knock someone out if you aren't about to do something dodgy. "I'm going to check on Yurial." Lilith whispered as quietly as possible to me. I nodded in agreement and she snuck her way back to the unconscious Gaurdian. I however, continued to follow Spyro.

I followed him all the way up to his dorm. Scar was still there, so was Jade. I could hear them talking in the background. I knew that if I went in, I would get caught stalking him. I hid behind an arch that was next to his door. I had no idea what he was doing, but if he was leaving, then I would have to step in. There was no way that I was going to let him leave. "You going somewhere?" I heard one of the 2 ask. There was no response from him. I waited for a minute before hearing someone leave the room. I peeked my head over from the arch and saw Spyro walking away with a bag slung over his shoulder. He also had his blue hoodie on. I slowly and quietly followed him some more. It was now that I realised that what I was doing, I should maybe let fate play it's course. It's not my place to prevent someone from doing something. And maybe this is one of those things. But then again, this was also one of things where everyone will die. I was still following, I was surprised at how I wasn't seen yet. I saw him turn into the combat room. Most likely to take his weapons with him. I was contemplating about confronting him about this. "Shut up." I heard him say aloud. No one else was there, but he was talking to himself. And them I remembered being told about the voice he was hearing. "This is my choice to leave. So you can't hurt anyone." He said with slight sadness. I concealed my self behind a pillar. Someone was approaching, multiple dragons were actually. "You are required to come with us." Someone said, now in the combat room. I heard a blade being drawn. I decided that now was the time to reveal my self. "STOP!" I shouted at the group. Othreal, Viika and lance were all there, all with blades drawn. "Cynder?" I heard Spyro ask in surprise. "What. Are you doing here?" He asked in the same tone of voice. "Stopping you." I said sternly. "You should not be here." Viika told me. "You think!" I snapped sarcastically to her. She didn't say anything to that. "From doing what?" Othreal said. I took a second before answering. "From leaving." I said shyly and sadly. "Believe me, he won't be leaving." Othreal said cruelly. "So be it." Spyro said in agreement. Othreal set up an attack stance. He was going to kill him. Viika and Lance stood off to the side and watched. Lance looked uneasy about this, I thought that he wouldn't be able to go through with what they were doing. Spyro didn't even look defeated. He knew what was next, and he accepted it. I wanted to say something, to stop this, but I couldn't say or do anything. I was afraid. Othreal slowly approached Spyro, who was now kneeling, waiting for it to be over and done with. "Are you sure we have to do this?" Lance asked worriedly. Othreal stopped dead in his tracks. "Believe me, I don't want to do this either. But he's been lost. It's only a matter of time now." Othreal said shakily. I felt tears now. He was going to kill Spyro, and I couldn't do anything about it. I would just get overpowered instantly. "We can help him." Lance said with a quiver. "He needs to." Spyro said out of nowhere. Everyone turned to look at him. "He's right, it's only a matter of time. No matter what happens tonight, this will be the last time you will see me. It's either I die tonight, or I leave... forever." Spyro said sadly. "Just get it over with." He said, bowing his head down. "Don't cry Cynder. Everything will be fine." He said. "No It won't!" I shouted at him. "You can't go." I said in tears. He looked up, he had a tear on him as well. "I'm sorry for this, I wish that we had happened faster. These last few weeks have been amazing. I wish we could have enjoyed it for longer." He said bowing his head back down. Lance was now visibly uncomfortable about this situation. Viika did too. "Now for my sake, please look away." Spyro said calmly somehow. I closed my eyes. I had to, I couldn't watch this. "NO!" Someone shouted rushing past me. A blade was drawn and the distinctive sound of blades colliding split the air.

I opened my eyes and looked in fear. Yurial was standing in front of Spyro, locking blades with Othreal. "Get away from him." Yurial said cruelly. He sounded vicious. "Yurial, please don't do this." Othreal said to the seething Gaurdian. "I could say the same." Yurial said, again in a cruel tone. Yurial was angered beyond belief. Spyro and Yurial had always shared a special bond since Yurial found Spyro all those years ago. "Stand down Gaurdian." Othreal said sternly. "Leave the kid alone then." Yurial replied back. "That is something I cannot do." Othreal said slightly sadly. I was still watching the ongoing confliction. I was still unable to say or do anything. "Now stand down." He said to the still seething Gaurdian. "NEVER!" Yurial screamed with rage. He went to strike, but was stopped by Spyro. "He needs to do this Yurial. It's best for both of us. For all of us." He said sadly. Everyone looked at him. "No it isn't. You don't understand." Yurial said welling up. Othreal dropped his blade in defeat. "I can't proceed with this." He finally said in defeat. "I'm so sorry." Othreal said with remorse. "I see. No one can finish the job." Spyro finally said. He sounded defeated. He wanted to die. "No one has to." Viika said quietly. "I understand what you are trying to achieve. But it doesn't have to be like this." She said remorsefully. "She's right." Yurial said in agreement. "Let us help you." He said persuasively. Spyro froze for a second. I thought that maybe, he would consider the offer. "No." He said calmly. And then, just like that. He disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. One second he was there. The next, he was nowhere to be seen. He was gone.

CHAPTER 26 Spyro's perspective

I opened my eyes and found that I had awoken in a forest that I wasn't familiar with. My lungs were burning from the smoke. I felt sad knowing that I was never to return home. Not at least as my self. I started to worry now. I had left Cynder with no one. I am a bad friend. I looked around hurriedly to see if I could find a known area or building. I saw an old, rundown castle in the distance. I knew that was Malefor's current base of operations. I looked back behind. Even if I wanted to go home, it was at least a 2 day journey. Unless you were to fly that is. That would take it to about a 5 hour journey, but I despise flying with all my heart. I knew that the only way to go was forward... to him. It was dark as well, so I must have been unconscious for a while. If I had to guess, It was just past midnight. "Not long now my dear friend." The voice hissed. "You will get your time." I said in defeat. "You're giving up? Just like that?" It asked in surprise. "Yes. I know what is going to happen next, it's just as well that I get as far away from home as possible." I explained. As soon as I said that, an agonising pain filled my skull. I tried to resist the pain, but it was unimaginable. I stumbled onto the wet ground, unable to move from the pain. "You really are pathetic. Giving up on life." it scalded at me. "Do you not care for all the dragons you have just abandoned? Do you not even care for Cynder?" It said, trying to catch me off guard. It was working. I was caught off guard. I was filled with emotion. Sadness, Anger, Hate, Loss, Loneliness. I couldn't stop. "You don't deserve her. She deserved better." It said. The pain had started to subside. "Your right. She does deserve better." I said with sadness. "And yet you feel sad." It said. I didn't bother saying anything. All I knew is that my time is over, and a new me shall take over. I was going to let it. Until I slowly passed out, blackness slowly engulfed my vision, until I was out cold.

*some time later*

"Careful with him." A female voice said distortedly. I was being carried over someone's shoulder, still half unconscious. I had no idea where I was being taken, or who was taking me. "I know what i'm doing." A male voice said. "I feel bad for him slightly." The female voice said. "I don't know why, but I just do." She continued. I was slowly regaining my senses. I was being carried in the direction of the castle. I used all of my force to push myself off of my assailant. I somehow managed to muster the energy to do a backflip and land gracefully. It was Brazer and Nadder. "Fancy seeing you two here." I jeered. Brazer went to charge, but Nadder held her arm out stopping the hot headed dragon. "It's not worth it." She whispered. I was confused. "Shouldn't you be trying to kill me right now?" I said curiously. "Not this time." Nadder said. Something was going on. Something didn't feel right. "Malefor said you would be here. We came here to collect your what we thought to be unconscious body." Brazer chimed in responding to my somewhat visible confusion. "Why are you all the way out here?" Brazer then asked. "It's a long story." I responded. I'm surprised that no one had tried to kill anyone yet. "well then let's go, it's certainly not going to get any warmer out here." I said to the pair. They looked at each other and then back at me. "What?" Nadder said in utmost confusion. "Have you...-" She tried to say something before I cut her off. "Lost my mind? Absolutely." I said. "Lost all hope. Positively." I continued. I started walking off towards the castle. "What the hell happened to you?" Nadder asked me. I looked down at my hands and noticed that they were starting to turn darker, almost all the way up my arms were turning darker. "Malefor has finally won, and I have accepted my fate now. If i'm going to play a part in his plan, then that is what I shall do." I explained. "You've given up. Haven't you?" Brazer said. I said nothing, I continued walking. The castle was about a couple of minutes away.

"So you left? Just like that, you just vanished?" Nadder asked me. I had spent the last 4 minutes of my life explaining as to why I was unconscious miles away from my home. "Yep. I literally teleported away. I just thought of it, and somehow I actually did it. No thanks to my little voice friend." I continued. "You aren't afraid?" She asked me curiously. "Of turning?" She continued asking. "No. I'm not afraid to turn. I'm not afraid to die. And i'm certainly not afraid of Malefor." I said cruelly. My body was slowly turning darker, I could feel constant anger and rage slowly but surely building. Brazer came up to me and cuffed my hands together. "I'm sorry for this, but I need to make it look like you are actually being captured opposed to... you know, walking in all cheery like." Brazer said solemnly. "Whatever." I hissed rudely. The entrance hallway was long. There were no rooms off to the side, just one long corridor the end of which was swallowed by darkness with only a slight glimmer of light at the other end. I heard Brazer shudder slightly. My guess is that he feared who he served. I could also hear Nadder's breathing pick up slightly. We continued down the corridor, albeit at a slow pace. I had started to get impatient. "Can we hurry up?" I hissed impatiently. "Someone's eager." Brazer remarked. I cocked my head to the side and stared him down. All I could feel was relentless rage. All I wanted to do was kill. I was turning now, I could feel it. I saw Nadder come up next to Brazer and whisper something rather loudly. "Is it just me, or are his scales becoming darker?" She whispered. "Just go with it." Brazer whispered back to her. I pretended like I didn't hear anything. "Let's go already." I said once again impatiently. "Why are you so damn persistent about confronting Malefor?" Brazer asked suspiciously. I didn't bother replying. I just continued walking. "He is well creepy now." Brazer said under his breath. I had to physically stop myself from lunging at the pair and ripping out their spines. Oh how I wanted to.

The three of us had slowly walked down the corridor until we had reached the end, which we were greeted to a huge rusted iron door. Easily 5 metres tall. Nadder went up and gave the door a knock before opening it with an eerie, echoing creak. On the other side of the door was what seemed to be a throne room with a towering dark creature sitting upon the golden throne. Malefor... "Move it." Brazer hissed shoving me in the dark lord's direction. I guess he was committed to making the capture look authentic. Nadder knelt down before her master. "We captured him my lord." She said solemnly. "Indeed you did..." Malefor said in his calm yet evil voice. I slowly approached him and bowed my head slightly. "Malefor." I said in greeting, lifting my head up to meet his gaze. He looked ever so slightly afraid. "I see you've taken into your new self then." He said. "I have accepted my fate. If you wish to kill me, then go ahead. If you wish to use me, Then again, go ahead." I said sternly to him. He stood up and approached me. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the closest wall. He stared me down, scanning every muscle movement looking for a sign. My throat was burning. And so was my anger. I wasn't going to be me for much longer, I was changing. "You won't kill me. You need me." I struggled to say whilst still being pinned to the wall. "You know nothing." Malefor snarled cruelly. "You're the one who knows nothing. The voice you ever so kindly forced on me has told me everything. I know what you're doing." I said still struggling. "Voice? I never implemented anything on you... unless." Malefor said with sudden realisation. He released my grip and I fell to the floor, nailing the landing somehow. "Unless what?" I said with a snarl. He looked at the pair of assassins, who were standing around watching the conflict. "Uncuff him." Malefor ordered. "Right away." Brazer replied doing as he was instructed. I decided that I wasn't going to rip his head off this time. I stared right into Brazer's soul. He looked afraid of me. He slowly shuffled back over to where he was previously. Malefor laughed evilly. "I never thought I would see the day." He remarked. "The day that you would return. I thought your sad excuse of a father had made you weak." He continued. "My father WAS weak." I replied evilly. Malefor looked at me funny. I had finally turned, I was now evil.

CHAPTER 27 Dark Spyro's perspective.

I looked up at my new master. "And so it finally comes to be." Malefor said looking into me. "Yes master. So it has." I replied darkly. "Master you say?" He said curiously. "I pledge myself to you dark master." I said darkly. I wanted nothing more than bloodshed. I wanted, no, NEEDED to kill. Malefor looked pleased with me. "Then it shall be. You are now to work with Brazer and Nadder." He told me. I nodded in agreement. "If you work hard enough, you shall be accepted into my operations. You shall finally be able to pledge yourself proper." Malefor sneered. "What Is my mission?" I asked my master. "Mission? Someone's eager." Malefor said. "I need you to capture the girl. Get her and bring her back. I'll deal with her personally." Malefor instructed me. "The girl? Which one?" I asked him. "Cynder. Capture her." He informed. "Your wish is my command." I said in agreement. "Take Brazer with you. Nadder is staying here." Malefor added. "Of course." Brazer said quietly. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that." Malefor said sarcastically. "Nothing." Brazer said aloud. I went to walk off to complete my mission. "Won't you be needing weapons?" Malefor said to me. I stopped and turned around. "Yes. I will." I replied. I watched as Malefor picked up a pair of blades and approached me with them. "Take these. You will not survive without them." Malefor informed, handing me a pair of finely crafted twin blades. I hesitantly took them and twirled one of them in my hand. It handled like a dream. "Perfectly balanced." I exclaimed. "These will do perfectly." I said sliding the pair into my blade holder. I had just realised that I was still wearing my blue hoodie. This was going to be a hinderence, so I decided to take it off. I quickly slid on my blade harness over my chest. "Ready to go?" I said to Brazer. "Yep." Brazer answered. "Good. Because I'm not waiting for your lazy ass." I sneered cruelly. Brazer looked defeated when I said that. "Now go. And don't kill her yet." Malefor said. I nodded before walking off. Brazer following close behind. I could tell that he was uncomfortable, that he didn't trust me. I could see why, because I so wanted to kill something. I was willing to go as far as killing my own companion. "How is it that you suddenly joined Malefor?" Brazer asked in confusion. His voice echoed in the vast length of the corridor. "I've been cooped up in this body for so long. Not able to do fuck all. It was hell." I explained. " Now that I finally have my body back... I'm free to do whatever I please." I continued to explain. Brazer didn't say anything. We walked for a minute. We were about halfway down the corridor by now. "So this... Cynder. Is she strong?" Brazer asked. "Not strong enough." I remarked. "What was she like?" He asked. I was starting to get pretty annoyed now. "Was she kind?" He asked. I snapped around and shoved him against the wall, drawing one of my blades and pressing it against his throat. "You're starting to piss me off!" I yelled in Brazer's face. "I'll stop." He said, his voice cracking. "Good." I said calmly, cocking my head slightly. I put my new blade back inside of my blade harness and continued forward. "You're crazy." I heard Brazer mutter quietly, but I paid no attention.

We had now reached the end of the corridor. Sunlight had started to appear on the horizon. "If we hurry, we should make it by nightfall tommorow." Brazer said trying to be helpful. "You don't say!" I said sarcastically. " You don't have to be a prick about it." Brazer whined insultedly. "I don't care what you think about me." I remarked at him. "You are such a pussy." I jeered at him before walking off, leaving him to process what I just told him. I knew I was being a prick towards him. What can I say... I was enjoying it. My own body again. But these damn memories, old emotions. They're being clingy. deep down, I wanted my old friends back. I felt a tear falling down my cheek. "Wait. Are you crying?" Brazer said taunting me. "No. It's just old emotions making me like this." I said with a slight waver. "You are actually crying." Brazer said with a laugh. "One more time and I will reach down your throat and rip out your fucking spine from the inside." I snarled as evilly and not tearily as was possible. A couple seconds went by and neither of us said anything. The sun was rising rapidly. It was now starting to get light fast now, it was already light enough to see through the trees clearly. "Why do you have so much pent up anger. And I want a serious answer, not an insult." Brazer asked seriously. I tried to ignore him for a second, but he did ask a good question. "I guess... all these years living as someone else, it's had a bigger effect on me than I realised." I said sadly. "All those years watching, waiting. All of the friends that the other me had made. And don't even get me started on Cynder, his girlfriend." I explained. "Lucky bastard got laid more times in one week than I can count on two hands." I exclaimed. Brazer chuckled at that remark. "Must've been a good life. For the shitty version of you I mean." Brazer said. I thought about her. Deep down, somewhere. I wanted her back. But I knew that these feelings and emotions were only temporary. I looked down at my hands, which reflected off all light that hit my scales. I preferred black compared to purple. I used to be a freak, the only purple dragon on the planet. Or any planet for that matter. My accent color had also changed, from the yellowy gold that it used to be, to a reflective yet somehow matte silver. And of course, my eyes had changed from a blood red to a bright and burning purple. I can see now why Brazer was afraid of me. I looked like an actual nightmare inducing monster. I looked vicious. "You're afraid of me. Aren't you." I finally said after about an hour of walking. Brazer just glared at me. "Yes. I am. And I find you really creepy." He finally said. "And the fact that you are constantly threatening me. I've seen you in combat, and against you I stand no chance." Brazer continued. I wanted to insult him again, but for some reason I didn't want to. "There is a difference between saying, and actually doing." I said to the young assassin. "Those are just words coming from you. You are psychotic. I've heard the stuff You've been talking about. All you want is to kill. And knowing you, I'm pretty much fucked then." Brazer ranted. "Keep going with that attitude and you are." I said in a somewhat comical tone.

No body decided to say anything. We just kept on walking almost all day. For 7, fucking, hours. "Can we please stop for a while? My legs are killing me." Brazer whined. "We stop when we get where we need to be." I hissed. "We've been walking literally all day. We haven't even had food breaks." He continued to whine. I stopped and looked at the now starting to set sun. "To be fair, we have made more progress than I was expecting." I said. "We set up camp here and continue at daybreak." I informed. Brazer let out a sigh of relief. "Finally." He remarked. "You are on charge of fire wood. I'm on food duty." I informed. "You didn't prep?" Brazer asked in surprise. "You literally saw my every move. I arrived, took over, and then left for my mission." I said. "I'll take that as a no." Brazer said before wandering off to get some fire wood. "I really struggle to understand why Malefor keeps him around." I said to myself quietly. My mind quickly went elsewhere. I realised that I hadn't seen a single animal at all today. Either that, or I really don't pay attention. I had hoped it was the latter. I hadn't eaten in ages and I was hungry. I glanced over at Brazer, who was carrying a small bundle of twigs and small sticks. No one would really notice if he disappeared, and I could just say he was killed in combat. Malefor would believe me. Right?... I licked my lips at the thought of fresh meat. I always wondered what dragon meat was like. Is it juicy? Is it tender? Is it better cooked? Or eaten raw. I slowly started to approach my new prey. I was quickly put off by something else. A sheep just casually strutted right in front of me. Brazer would live today, the sheep. Not so much. I slowly and silently drew my blade and made sure not to make any sudden movements as I didn't want to startle the sheep. It literally couldn't care less about my actions. It just stood there looking at me, eating grass. "Sorry about this little buddy." I said to the sheep. I quickly and harshly stabbed the poor sheep in the skull. It gave out a small bleat before crumplimg into a lifeless ball of wool. Blood pooled around it's head. I kind of felt bad about it, but then again. It is only a sheep. Skinning it was going to be a pain. "Looks like you have food sorted then." Brazer said from behind me. I turned around and saw him arranging the sticks and twigs in a sort of cone shape for the fire. "Do you have a shorter dagger on you?" I asked him. He quickly fumbled about his blade holder and pulled out a dagger and handed it to me. "Don't lose it. It's my only short blade." Brazer informed. I turned back to the dead sheep. I felt somewhat sick at the sight. I hadn't seen a dead body, dragon or animal in a long long time. "You can do this. This goes towards proving your worth." I muttered to myself. I knelt down and slowly edged the blade towards the back of the sheep's neck. I didn't need to drive the blade too deep, just enough to skin it. "Here goes." I said as I stabbed the sheep at the back of the neck. I carefully ran the tip of the dagger down along the sheep's spine from neck to back. Thankfully that wasn't too bad. But peeling the skin took a bit of time. About 10 minutes just to get the wool coat off. And I haven't even thrown up yet which is an added bonus. I had to take off the head now. To drain it. Brazer could see me struggle with decapitating a now skinned sheep. "You don't have to behead it you know." Brazer informed. I blanked out for a second. Brazer was saying something, but I wasn't paying attention. I had other things in my mind. I had a sudden thirst for blood. I quickly lunged forward and sank my teeth into the poor sheep's throat. Blood splurted out and made a bit of a mess. But it was so damn good. I kept drinking the sheep's blood. I couldn't stop myself. I was starting to get addicted. I kept on drinking and drinking straight out of its neck. The taste was to die for. Although it didn't last long. Within 30 seconds, the whole carcass was drained. And I was satisfied. I wiped my mouth and face with my hand and turned to look at Brazer. He was staring in horror at me. "You... j-just." Brazer stuttered. He looked like he was going to pass out. "What. It's not like I was going to let all that go to waste now was I." I remarked. He was still staring in horror. "What. Do I got blood on me still?" I asked him, looking down to see blood still on my chest. I hastily wiped it off as Brazer was clearly uncomfortable. "I'm, just going to... take that, over there." Brazer struggled to say, pointing over to the pile of sticks. "You do that then." I replied. I watched as he struggled to pick up the carcass, but he did eventually. He took the carcass about 10 metres away and placed it down next to the stock pile.

*an hour later*

"This sheep is really good." Brazer said with his mouth stuffed with sheep meat. I helped myself to a chunk of meat off of the makeshift rack made out of spare sticks. Brazer had cheated a little bit and breathed fire to light the fire opposed to doing it by hand. I bit into the meat and then realised that my piece was pretty much raw. "mmmm. This is amazing." I said after swallowing the piece I was chewing. "That's raw." Brazer pointed out. "I know... but it's so good." I responded. The taste of blood in the meat was so damn good. I definitely have an addiction for blood now. "I think I'm becoming more of a monster." I said randomly. "Really? To me it feels as if since we left, You've become more chilled out and less mean towards me. Why would you feel even more like a monster?" He asked me curiously. I guess he was right. I was being less of a prick now. "Because i'm now addicted to the taste of blood." I responded in a cheery tone. He looked down at his chunk of meat and then back at me. "You didn't randomly just bite into that sheep's neck. Did you?" He said as if he knew why I did it. "You had an uncontrollable urge for it. Didn't you?" He said. "Uncontrollable is one hell of an understatement." I remarked. "For years I've longed to taste it. And now I finally have. I feel a lot calmer. But relentless." I explained. "That's called anger problems." Brazer remarked. "I literally just said I felt calmer you dumbass." I hissed. "And that's exactly my point." Brazer said in defeat. "And what the hell does anger have to do with addictions." I said trying to make him feel stupid. He looked down in shame. "You are the stupidest, most pathetic creature I have ever met... second most pathetic actually." I hissed at the shameful creature. "I'm going to sleep. Might as well do so now if we want to catch dawn." Brazer said sadly. "I would suggest you do the same, Lack of sleep leads to crankiness." He informed. "Fucking idiot." I muttered under my breath.

CHAPTER 28 Cynder's perspective

"YOU BETRAYED HIM!" I yelled at Othreal. "Cynder. Please. I was doing what I had to." Othreal said with sorrow. I full force punched him in the face so hard, his lower jaw made a cracking noise. Yurial and Viika were watching me take all of my emotion out on him. Othreal stumbled for a couple seconds after I impacted him. "YOU WERE GOING TO KILL HIM YOU BASTARD!" I continued to yell. I wasn't angry. I was saddened and scared beyond belief. He looked up at me with remorse. "I am so sorry." He said quietly. "But he got away. He must have turned by now." Othreal said quietly again. I suddenly felt really sick all of a sudden. Othreal could see this too. "Are you ok?" He asked me seriously. "DO I LOOK FUCKING OK? YOU TRIED TO KILL THE PERSON I LOVE! DO YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL, KNOWING WHAT HE HAS TURNED INTO NOW!?" I continued to yell with sadness. I couldn't bear to think about it. My Spyro, an agent for Malefor. I fell to the floor, crying. Othreal tried to comfort me, Yurial and Viika had left a short minute ago. "No. I can't imagine how you feel." Othreal said in a soothing voice. "I've never been in love." He said. "But I can only imagine what I have made you feel. And I am so, very, truly, deeply sorry. From the bottom of my heart." He said hugging me in comfort. I was crying heavily at this point. Othreal tried his best to comfort me. I was feeling even worse now, like I was going to throw up... Because I was. I pushed Othreal off of me and had been sick on the floor, which was weird as I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Anything I had eaten would have 100% digested by now. "Are you ok?" Othreal asked both seriously and comfortingly. "Yes. I'm fine." I said tearily. "I don't blame you for what you needed to do, I'm scared for him." I continued. "Come on, I'll take you to your dorm." Othreal said helping me up. "yeah... good, idea." I said dizzily. "What is happening to me?" I said dizzily. "You've just thrown up, You'll be dizzy for a short while." He said helpfully. I slowly stumbled out of the room, Othreal followed closely.

"How did you know about his... condition let's say." I asked Othreal. "Lance told us. He was listening on you and him talking." He said with shame. He looked down. "And who's idea was it to k... to kill." I couldn't finish my sentence, the thought of losing him almost made me break down. I started to breathe fast and heavy. "Mine. It was my idea, but now I see that was a mistake." He said solemnly. I tried to control my emotions and my breathing. "And instead, he teleported away somehow breaking the laws of physics... and now the next time I see him, he will either be dead... or not the same. Either way Malefor has won." Othreal said sadly. "I swear I am going to hurt him so bad, he will be begging me for death. And you know what? I'm going to keep him alive. I'll cut off his hands and force him to endure unimaginable pain. Not even Satan will accept me into hell when i'm through with him." I said slowly sounding eviller. "Wow, you are one creepy girl." Othreal said in both surprise and shock. "And then when I get bored of that, I'll murder Nadder and Brazer. And then I'll find a way to resurrect Malefor's brother and torture him in front of Malefor." I said with extreme cruelty. "Stop!" Othreal suddenly exclaimed. "There are somethings you need to stay away from. Malefor, and those that have anything to do with him are just a few to mention." He said in a worried tone. That was it, I finally figured out what he was hiding. "His brother is still alive, Isn't he?" I asked. He said nothing. "Isn't, he?" I said making it obvious that I wasn't leaving him alone until I got my answer. "Yes." He said solemnly. "I knew it, I knew that you were hiding something from me." I said in annoyance. "Look, whatever you do, Never mention it. Ever." Othreal said almost threateningly. "I solemnly swear, I won't tell a soul." I said raising my hand almost in mockery. "Can you take this seriously? This is a big problem." He said. "Just shut up will ya!" I said to him cruelly. "Just leave me alone." I said before carrying on to my dorm. I didn't want anything to do with him right now, after all he did just try to kill Spyro.

I quietly opened my door and practically snuck in, Lilith was fast asleep on a sofa and I didn't want to wake her. I had no clue as to how I was going to tell her about Spyro. Part of me didn't want to, but I knew I had to. I quietly snuck around her and into my bedroom area. I immediately knew that I wasn't sleeping for a while, How could I? I lay down and thought about him. I already missed him. I let out a small whimper of sadness. I felt my stomach churn slightly, feeling sick again. "what the hell?" I said quietly in confusion. "oh Spyro... where are you." I said with a quiet cry. There was a soft knock on the door leading into my area. "Cynder. Are you ok?" Lilith asked quietly. "yeah... come in." I said back to her. She slowly opened the door and sat down beside me. "what's wrong?" she asked quietly. I sighed. "Spyro's gone." I said solemnly. "He's... gone?" Lilith asked in confusion. I nodded sadly. "What happened?" she asked me comfortingly. "He just straight up teleported." I said meekly. "Why. He had no reason to leave." Lilith said to me. "You don't understand what he is going through. When he encountered Malefor, something about him changed. It's like his soul split into 2 different beings. And he's afraid of turning evil. So he left." I explained.


End file.
